President: Transdniester deserves independence more than Kosovo

Both legally and historically, Transdniestria has a better claim to independence than Kosovo. That is the opinion of Transdniestria's president Igor Smirnov. He also said that the Kosovo precedent is important, but not the only key factor and that Transdniestria will continue to claim sovereignty regardless of what happens in Kosovo.Transdniestria's democratically elected president Igor Smirnov said on Thursday that his republic has better grounds for independence than Kosovo, news agency RIA Novosti reported." - For us, the Kosovo precedent is an important factor, but not the only key factor. Historical and legal factors, and reality itself suggest that we have more right to independence," Smirnov told a news conference, adding that the republic complied with all requirements for sovereign statehood under international law. Transdniestria will maintain its…

28.12.2007

Igor Smirnov: "Moldova should keep its earlier agreements first"

The President of Pridnestrovie is willing to sit down with Moldova and discuss future relations. "But we have nothing to talk about before Moldova begins to honor its own earlier signed agreements with us," he says. According to Igor Smirnov, a total of 148 previously signed documents between the two sides have been ignored by Moldova.Speaking to the press during Pridnestrovie's 17 year independence celebrations, PMR President Igor Smirnov - who was re-elected in December 2006 in the presence of international observers - said that the past year was "full of important events for the building of the Pridnestrovian nation and the consolidation of its foundations. There were two significant events – the presidential elections and the referendum where our people re-affirmed its pro-independence course."" - And, naturally,…

11.09.2007

Igor Smirnov: "We have a stronger case for statehood than Kosovo"

International recognition of Pridnestrovie's independence is among the new and emerging country's top priority, says its President, Igor Smirnov. Re-elected in a landslide in December 2006, the independence leader also explains that historically and under international law, his country's claim to statehood is much stronger than Kosovo's.Igor Smirnov, 65, got re-elected in a landslide in December for a new term as President of Pridnestrovie. The former political prisoner and independence leader is one of the "fathers of the republic", having played a leading role in Pridnestrovie's declaration of independence, 2 September 1990. His own father was imprisoned by Stalin, and he himself launched his political career by facing off against the official candidate from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the first free elections under 'perestroika'.…

06.03.2007

Igor Smirnov: "People want to live free, and the will of the people is a clear order"

The people of Pridnestrovie have chosen freedom, says Igor Smirnov in this interview. Any talk of unification with Moldova is a non-starter: "The will of the people is a clear order for me," explains the president of the unrecognized country. The only way forward is independence.Pridnestrovie's current president, the generously eyebrowed Igor Smirnov, looks back into history. After the 17 September independence referendum, but before the 10 December presidential elections, Igor Smirnov was interviewed by R.A. Zvyagelskogo, editor-in-chief of Eastern Europe's most prestigious law journal, "Russian Attorney."Here, he explains that Pridnestrovie is not just 16 years old. It is the result of a tradition that goes back a lot further, and he explains some of the ideology which brings the people together on a shared wish for a…

18.10.2006

Igor Smirnov: "What matters first of all is the opinion of the people who live here"

After 16 years of independence, Pridnestrovie is on its way to international recognition and integration says its president, Igor Smirnov. In this interview, he answers questions about the difficulties of leading an unrecognized country and how he sees future relations with Moldova and with the rest of the world. Former metal-worker Igor Smirnov, 64, is the current president of Pridnestrovie. On the occasion of the 16 year anniversary of the 2 September 1990 declaration of independence of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (Pridnestrovie, or PMR for short), he held a press briefing in Tiraspol with the participation of 55 local and foreign journalists. Pridnestrovie, born in the dissolution of the Soviet Union, is now 16 years old. Can you sum up the main challenges?" - The 16th year of…

01.09.2006