Russia on May 3 made Igor Smirnov, the leader of the separatist government of Transdniester, a member of its Order of Honor, the Moldovan press agency Basa and the Transdniestrian website tiraspol.info reported. Basa said Smirnov has become the sixth person to be awarded the distinction of an Order of Honor, Grade I. Smirnov received the decoration "for strengthening friendship among nations, developing democracy, strengthening the position of Transdniester on the international level, and strengthening ties between Transdniester and Russia." The award is another sign of Russia's support for Smirnov's administration, whose bloody fight for independence from Moldova was ended in 1992 by the arrival of Russian peacekeepers. Russian forces have remained in the area ever since, despite promising in 1993 and 1999 to withdraw. A recent report by the Jamestown Foundation suggested that Russia and Moldova in mid-April were on the brink of signing a bilateral deal that would reintegrate Transdniester into Moldova, but with very extensive autonomy and with a guarantee of Moldovan neutrality (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 23, 2007). However, during a trip to Chisinau on April 27, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia David Kramer said he has "received clear assurances from the Moldovan authorities that no plan on settling the Transdniestrian dispute was presented to them" by Russia, according to a report by the news agency IPN from the same day. Countering commonly held perceptions, a columnist for Moldovan newspaper "Vremea" argued on May 3 that Smirnov is "in disgrace" with Moscow, which is allegedly angry at the misuse of financial support and wishes to convince Transdniester to form a single state with Moldova. AG // Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. RFE/RL


Publication date: 07 May 2007   

Source:

Archive