This dyad belongs to the conflict Moldova: Dniestr
Summary of conflict Moldova: Dniestr
The conflict in Moldova appeared in the 1990s as the country started to liberate itself from the USSR. The Slavic minority east of the river Dniestr objected to the independence as they feared a unification with Romania. In 1992, violent clashes occurred between Moldovan troops and the self-proclaimed PMR (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic). The incompatibility remains unsolved. Although the tensions between the two parties occasionally have intensified in subsequent years there has been no armed conflict or violence between them since 1992.
A peace processes is ongoing in which the parties meet regularly in the 5 + 2 format, Moldova and PMR as parties to the conflict, Russia, Ukraine and OSCE as mediators and US and EU as observers.
Historical background and the outbreak of the conflict
In the mid 1980s, when Moldova was a republic in the USSR, a group of Moldovans had been pressing for the recognition of Moldovan as the official state language. In 1989, when independence of the former republics was approaching, the Law on the Official Language of Moldova was adopted, which proclaimed Romanian the official language of the Republic. This event intensified the fears that Moldova would unite with Romania. The Slavic minority, living in the region east of the river Dniestr was the group most opposed to the language law, as it was a visible sign of shifting the power away from the Russians and the Russian speakers to the Moldovans. The political anti-Romanian attitude amongst the Russian speaking minority in Moldova was traditionally very strong starting from 1918-1919. This attitude was worsened by Moscows attempt to use every situation as leverage for keeping Moldova in the USSR. The fear of unification with Romania dates back to medieval times when Moldova and Romania were united under the Moldavia Principalities. In 1812, the area of Moldova became a province of the Russian empire named Bessarabia. During a brief period 1918-1940, the independent Moldavian democratic republic united with greater Romania, followed by occupation of the Soviet army during World War Two. MSSR (Moldovian Soviet Socialist Republic’) was created as a republic in the USSR and a russification took place in the republic.
In 1990, there were elections in Moldova and the parliament constituted after the elections consisted of a great majority of ethnic Moldovans. In May 1990, the Slavic minority living east of the river Dniestr refused to recognize the new parliament and on 2 September 1990 they proclaimed their independence from Moldova and named the republic PMR (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic), also known as Trans-Dniester, Transnistria or the Dniestr Republic, to mention some, depending on the source. PMR had three industrial centers: Tiraspol (the capital) Bender and Ribnitsa. Bender became part of the new entity although it was not situated on the east side of the river Dnestr, but on the Moldovan west side.
On 27 August 1991, the independence of Moldova from the USSR was declared. In the Declaration of Independence, the Moldavians explicitly called the area east of the river Dniestr part of their historic and ethnic territory. The leaders in the PMR were soon to react and on 2 September they voted to join the USSR. Formations in the PMR started to take over former Moldovan public institutions, such as police stations and media. On 13 December the Moldovan Police returned fire, defending a police post and the regional government building in Dubossary. New clashes took place in March 1992 when the conflict reached the level of 25 battle-related deaths. The violence further escalated until June when heavy battles were reported in Bender.
Negotiations since 1992
In negotiations in March 1992, the parties agreed on a ceasefire that was soon broken. However, talks between Russia and Moldova were concluded in a ceasefire agreement on 21 July. This agreement put an end to the violence. The PMR (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) was not a signatory to the agreement and negotiations have continued in order to solve the incompatibility between the two parties. In 1994, a declaration was signed by the parties confirming their commitment to seek a comprehensive solution to the existing problems. Even though a solution seemed close, the PMR withdrew in protest the same year. The main obstacle for PMR was that any withdrawal of the 14th army (detachment of Russian soldiers) were unacceptable before the status of the territory east of the river Dniestr was solved.
The parties signed a partial peace agreement in Moscow in 1997 where the two sides agreed on building their relations in the framework of the common state. It was stipulated that PMR would have the right to establish unilaterally, and to maintain, international contacts in the economic, scientific-technical and cultural spheres. Although an effort towards normalization took place and the negotiators were close to a resolution of the conflict, tensions between the parties intensified in 2001. After national elections in Moldova the negotiations collapsed over the PMR’s insistence on complete sovereignty. Subsequent years have remained deadlocked even though the involved third parties (OSCE, Russia, Ukraine, United States and the European Union) have tried to reach a solution by focusing on trade activities and border procedures.
In 2007 Moldova agreed on a resumption of talks but PMR refused to participate as the Moldovan government had failed to fulfill one of its key conditions for the continuation of the talks – to grant the region of PMR the right to independent trade activities. The talks remained deadlocked.
In early April 2008, the Moldovan President and the leader of PMR met in talks for the first time since 2001. In April the leaders "agreed to continue their meetings in order to gradually solve all existing problems...". When tension grew in Georgia in August, PMR declared it would break off all contact with Moldova if the authorities did not "issue a decisive, unconditional denunciation of Georgias aggression", a request which Moldova did not fulfill. After new meetings with the third parties the two warring parties agreed to continue the talks.
In November 2009, the Moldovan prime minister made statements demonstrating a will for resumption of negotiations and a sustainable solution of the conflict.
The government of Moldova and representatives from Transnistria agreed on renewed talks in 2011 after almost six years of stalled negotiations. Official talks were held in the end of 2011 under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with Lithuania holding the rotating chairmanship.
In 2012, talks were once again initiated between the two parties. This was the first time official talks were held in almost six years and aimed at preparing the conditions for future official negotiations. Moldovas prime minister and the new leader of the rebel region agreed to increase contacts between their populations, and as such, a 100-percent customs duty on Moldovan goods was scrapped and Moldova revived a railway link and agreed to restore the movement of trains to Transdniestria. Talks under the 5 + 2 format (Moldova and PMR as parties to the conflict, Russia, Ukraine and OSCE as mediators and US and EU as observers) were held regularly in the coming years until the end of 2014 when all talks were postponed due to soured relations between Russia and the West.
