Publication

IWP with the support of the Norwegian government and the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine has published a policy brief, based on the results of the fourth meeting of the Strategic Discussion Club.The Strategic Discussion Club held its fourth meeting on June 12th, 2013. It was devoted to the role of Ukraine in resolving protracted conflicts. The panelists discussed the Ukraine’s efforts to resolve protracted conflicts on the territory of the former Soviet Union within the framework of its OSCE chairmanship.
Policy Brief states that despite the Ukraine’s OSCE chairmanship focus on transnistria, the process of conflict settlement is getting into a deadlock. Ukraine is pushing for a direct dialogue between Moldova and transnistrian authorities, Russia demonstrates an increasingly revisionist position, while the USA getting less interested in the region. On the other hand, the EU is investing more efforts in conflict settlement and Moldova hopes that association with the EU will ease the process of conflict resolution.
The research emphasizes that the participants should ensure good faith negotiations and guarantee that the overall environment has not drifted away from the key issues. All the participants should prevent any attempt to increase military capabilities and unilateral actions in the region and greater involvement of civil society is required for avoiding the emergence of new dividing lines.
The main conclusion of the Policy Brief is that the 5+2 participants should get back to a sustainable approach to the conflict settlement even if there are no favorable conditions for conflict resolution.
The full text of the Policy Brief in English is here.