| The c?nflict in the Transnistrian area has been ongoing for a period of ab?ut 25 years.During this timeframe,the c?nflict has passed thr?ugh a series ?f stages — fr?m its “hot stage”,military acti?ns in 1992,t? the present status qu?.A new generati?n has gr?wn up during these years,which d?es n?t kn?w the Soviet times and has lived in the actually divided Republic of Moldova.The parties have signed a Cease-Fire Agreement on 26 of July 1992.The ?ther numer?us d?cuments signed by Tirasp?l and Chisinau m?stly refer t? the ec?nomic sect?r.Most ?f th?se d?cuments don't have effect in reality,as their provisi?ns have p?wer on paper ?nly.B?th conflict sides display numer?us claims and accusati?ns.The relevant parties did not sign a final peace agreement and none of them is ready or at least willing to unfreeze this situation,being firm that any cessations w?uld mean marring its own interests.The main research question of the thesis tackles the issue: why the Transnistrian conflict resolution has been undergoing as a frustrated process? More precisely,the following points will be explored: the role of Russia and EU in Transnistrian conflict settlement proces,their objectivity towards the Republic of Moldova and their ability to act on their own,independently from other international players.The Hypothesis states in Russian's Federation ambition to control the whole of the former Soviet countries from a geopolitical and millitary perspective and in case of Transnistria it will only support a solution that would ensure a disproportionate level of Tiraspol influence on the decision-making process in Chisinau.Chapter 1,examines the origins of the Transnistrian conflict as a geopolitical conflict,mainly due to the desire of former union center to maintain control of the former peripheries that have tried to realize their legitimate right to self-determination stated in the Constitution of the USSR,and in the early 1990 s and-declared sovereignty,constituting independent states,constituting itself as independent states.In that time Moscow has taken advantage from specific cultural and psychological traits of the population of Transnistria speculated a unification of the Republic of Moldova with Romania and fears of Transnistrian which are more russified to an extent much more than the population of the right Dniester River,against a possible loss of their priority positions and a ?forced romanization”.Following this,on 2 of September 1990,the Transnistrian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic is proclamed,and on 25 th of August,1991 this entity proclaimed its independence.The event occurred just two days before the day when in Chisinau was proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Moldova,which also included Transnistria.After these events,on 1 of March 1992,armed guardists and cossacks,occupy district police station in Dubasari,taking hostage 34 police officers,trigger military action against constitutional authorities of the state,marking the beginning of the armed conflict.After Moscow adopted the decision on direct involvement of the 14 th army in the conflict on the Dniester Rive,the President of self-proclamed Transnistrian Moldovan Republic has signed a decree on transfer of all establishments of the 14 th army under the jurisdiction of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic.In the end,after hundreds of deaths from both sides and tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the area of conflict both in western and eastern directions,a ceasefire Agreement was signed on 21 of July,1992 by the Presidents of Russian Federation,Boris Yeltsin and the Republic of Moldova,Mircea Snegur.Chapter 2,examines the atempts to find an international solution to this conflict,with first analysing the quadrilateral talks in 1992 with the participation of Moldova and Russia,Ukraine and Romania which finalised failed,because the parties had unequal influence in the conflict.One of the basic moments that characterize the Moldovan-Russian relations in the process of Transnistrian settlement negotiations was the ?common state”project with common border,common legal and economic framework,common framework of defense and social aspects,concluded with the signing of an Agreement which provided a series of actions in order to facilitate the interaction between individuals and companies on both sides of the Dniester River.Another initiative was undertook in November 2003 with a proposal to setlle the conflict through federalization of the Republic of Moldova.The Plan called ?Basic Principles of the State Structure of the Unified State” which made clear the intention of the Russian Federation not to involve the international community and to keep this issue only within the CIS.In view of the Kozak Plan,the Federation was going to be asymmetric and namely Transnistria was to be conferred an unequal status towards the Republic of Moldova.The plan was rejected by the President of the Republic of Moldova.After many months of silence,the President of the Republic of Moldova came up with a new concept of solving the Transnistrian conflict,which included the status of Transnistria,guarantees for the population,confidence-building measures,mechanisms for demilitarization and maintaining the neutrality status of Moldova.The concept included the following actions: mediators and observers in the 5 + 2 format it are proposed to search for solutions on the status of Transnistria,Chisinau and Tiraspol to take action to restore the confidence among citizens from both banks of the Dniester River,by solving their humanitarian,economic and infrastructure issues,demilitarization of the entire territory of Moldova.During this period significantly increased the role and presence of the EU in Moldova and Transnistria,especially after the signing of the Action Plan,the opening in Chisinau of the Office of EU Delegation and appointment of a special representative for Transnistrian settlement process.Chapter 3 analyzes the evolution of relations between the Republic of Moldova and the EU,especially in light of replacing of former cooperation frameworks with the AA,which includes the DCFTA and despite Moscow's pressures,which was aimed at preventing the conclusion of this Agreement and attracting Chisinau to the Eurasian Union.Finally the AA was signed during the Vilnius Summit in November 2013,with separate subchapter regarding Transnistrian conflict.The Transnistrian conflict is probably one of the main issues of the Republic of Moldova.This is also understood by the Russian Federation,which,being involved in the initial stage of this conflict,manages very skillfully,sustaining when officials from Chisinau,when the Tiraspol administration succeeded,through Transnistria,to control all of Moldova.Since the mid-1990's there has been a tendency to cooling relations with the West on security,that was mainly related to the process of NATO Eastward enlargement.By the mid-2000's the conflict between Russia and the NATO / EU intensified in the geopolitical aspect,because after the large-scale enlargement of the EU and NATO in Eastern Europe in 2004,that,in the opinion of Russia,led to the formation of new dividing lines in Europe,as well as the emergence of new zones with different levels of security.As a result,during 2013,Brussels and Moscow were engaged in a process of bringing the countries of the Commonwealth closer to enhanced integration formulas: the EU through the Association Agreements,and the Russian Federation within the Eurasian Union.Chapter 4 is related to the main challenges of the Transnistrian conflict resolution and namely about geopolitical and strategic issues and the Russian military presence on the territory of the Republic of Moldova which manifests itself in the form of the OGRF and “peacekeeping forces”.This preservation of the illegal military presence of Russia in Transnistria represents a real hindrance for its peaceful solution and withdrawal of Russian troops is an indispensable element of the Transnistrian settlement package and then to find a political solution on reintegration of the statality of the Republic of Moldova.Also,the withdrawal of the Russian troops will bring to the regaining of the sovereignty and territorial integrity and together with these elements the successful implementation of the state foreign policy.During its existence,the pr?blem of pr?tracted conflicts has become a truly panEur?pean pr?blem.We can see the example ?f Transnistria,that this conflict affects a number ?f other international and security issues – fr?m relations between Mold?va/Transnistria and the EU/Russia t? the devel?pment of integration pr?jects and the r?le of Russia and the EU in the f?rmation ?f a new Eur?pean security architecture.Chapert 5 is a generalization about the Russia and EU content and influence of the development of their ?wn regional security c?mplexes and their compatibility and the recommendation found out after my research. |
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