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Romania's former Foreign Minister says Moldova should "decouple" from Trans-Dniester
A former Foreign Minister of Romania says that Moldova ought to "decouple" itself from Transdniestria. Adrian Severin says it is the only way for Moldova to focus on its European aspirations. He also sees no future in fighting for unity of Moldova and Transdniestria "within borders imposed by Stalin." 
MEP Adrian Severin, a former Romanian foreign minister, thinks Moldova should decouple itself from TransdniestriaBUCHAREST (Tiraspol Times) - MEP Adrian Severin, a member of the European Parliament from Romania, thinks that Moldova has good chances for joining the European Union but only if it first gives up its territorial claim on Transdniestria.
The Romanian Europarliamentarian, who was also his country's Foreign Minister for part of the nineteen-nineties, says that on one hand, Moldova can join the EU faster than Ukraine because it is a small country. On the other hand, it is a more difficult case because Moldova is letting itself become a hostage to the issue of Transdniestria (or Transnistria, in the Romanian language).
In an interview with Britain's EurActiv, the leader of Romania's Social-Democratic delegation in the European Parliament also added that it is time to take not focus on the Soviet-era borders of the former MSSR, but instead move on and concentrate on the future.
- Decouple Moldova from Transnistria
Moldova's fixation on returning to borders which were created as the result of a secret deal between Hitler and Stalin (the now-denounced Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) is keeping Moldova stuck in the past.
" - Their fight for keeping the unity within borders invented by Stalin prevents them (the Moldovans, ed.) from progressing enough in terms of democracy, market economy and even in terms of national conscience," said the former foreign minister of Romania.
" - I think we should give Moldova a European perspective and European means to progress, we should try to decouple Moldova's development from the Transnistrian crisis," underscored Romanian Social Democratic MEP Adrian Severin.
" - Also, we should try to come to an agreement with Russia, because all frozen conflicts in the area are part of a single problem."
And how to solve a difficult situation? The opinion of Adrian Severin is to seek compromise and be realistic about the goals:
" - A balanced approach also involves listening to both sides, which did not happen," he says. "I don't think that we have to be conciliatory to Russia, but we shouldn't act like a Japanese soldier abandoned on an island and fighting a decades-long war after the conflict was long over." (With information from EurActiv)
See also:
» Moldova should choose Europe instead of Transdniester
» Majority of Moldovans willing to accept Transnistria's independence
» Former ASSR Pridnestrovie reminds Moldova: "You yourself denounced our union"
Opinion and commentary:
» Canadian government advisor: "Transdniestr trapped in Stalin's cartography"
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It doesn't matter if Moldova won't agree to letting Transdniestria be a free and sovereign country. Because according to a former US State Department official, "in the last 15 years at least 26 countries declared independence without any agreement with the country they lived under". That is the conclusion of Paul Williams, participating in a Washington DC conference on self-determination and statehood. . . 
