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It doesn't matter to the West who rules Transdniestria, as long as the territory's future is democratically decided by the people who live there. What matters far more is the future of geopolitical relations and the worldwide partnership with Russia, as U.S. military strategist Thomas P.M. Barnett points out.

One of Singapore's foremost political strategists says that the West needs to recognize reality. This means accommodating Russia in a win-win partnership as well as taking into account the number of new nations, such as Pridnestrovie, who want to become “responsible stakeholders” within the international community.

Let the people of Abkhazia and South Ossetia decide their own future in plebiscites conducted by the United Nations or the OSCE. That is the opinion of former White House insider Pat Buchanan who also says that "who rules Abkhazia and South Ossetia is none of our business."

Former US presidential candidate Pat Buchanan doesn't understand why some show indignation over the fact that Abkhazia and South Ossetia need independence. If anything, he argues that support for the independence and sovereignty of "breakaway provinces" would be in line with Western foreign policy.

On 5 June 2008, Moldova's Parliament passed a law banning all publications whose content could be construed as a call to "territorial separatism." Journalist and newspaper publisher Des Grant of The Tiraspol Times & Weekly Review warns that this law is in breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Disappointed with what it sees as too little support from Russia, Transdniestria is showing itself to be increasingly more independent and is adopting a "multi-vector" foreign policy which includes closer ties with the European Union. Here, renowned American analyst Paul Goble says that makes Transdniestria less subject to Moscow’s diktat.

Borders are not written in stone and as history has shown, they evolve along with human evolution, says Eddie Beaver of the US Navy's 7th fleet. In this guest opinion, he asks if we are to suspend reality and operate on the false belief that artificial nations are going to be permanent?

Wouldn’t consulting the people offer a way out? That's the question asked in this analysis, published by BHHRG, the British Helsinki Human Rights Group, after an extensive visit to Tiraspol.

Former US presidential candidate Pat Buchanan has harsh words for a knee-jerk Cold War mentality which hurts US interest rather than helping the world become a safer place. When countries show that they want more democracy and integration with the international community (which is the case for Pridnestrovie, ed.) they should be supported, not shunned. Such efforts should be recognized and helped in the right direction.

A repeat visitor from Scandinavia falls in love with Pridnestrovie and finds it to be quiet and almost crime free. In this guest column, Rune Hansson wants to know: Where are the gangsters that he was warned about before he arrived?