A senior Moldovan official announced that Chisinau is ready to give breakaway Transnistria widespread autonomy in exchange for reunification with Moldova, reported Infotag.md on July 1, citing the Vremya (Time) newspaper.  The paper cited comments made by Moldovan minister for reintegration Vasile Sova at the "Transnistrian Dialogs" seminar organized by the Moldovan Association for External Policy (APE) the weekend prior.  The proposal was submitted to the participants and mediators of the conflict settlement.  If adopted, it would grant Transnistria the status of a self-ruling republic with its own constitution, judicial system, police force and the right of secession from Moldova under some circumstances.  As reported by the news source, Sova also spoke of Moldovan demilitarization and a guaranteed 20 percent share of unified parliament seats to Transnistrian MPs.  According to the minister, as cited by the news source, Chisinau is ready to discuss the proposal in the 5+2 format.  If the package were to be accepted, Sova said the Moldovan parliament would move to approve relevant constitutional and legal changes within a month. 
This information was originally published July 1, 2008.  (www.infotag.md)
-- 07/03/2008