Kozak memorandum

The Kozak memorandum, officially Russian Draft Memorandum on the Basic Principles of the State Structure of a United State in Moldova,[1] was a 2003 proposal developed by the first deputy head of the Russian presidential administration Dmitry Kozak, aimed at a final settlement of relations between Moldova and Transnistria and a solving of the Transnistria conflict.

The Transnistrian War followed armed clashes on a limited scale that broke out between Transnistrian separatists and Moldova as early as November 1990 at Dubăsari. Starting from 2 March 1992, there was concerted military action between Moldova and Transnistria. The fighting intensified throughout early 1992. The former Soviet 14th Guards Army entered the conflict in its final stage, opening fire against Moldovan forces;[2] approximately 700 people were killed. Moldova has since then exercised no effective control or influence on Transnistrian authorities. A ceasefire agreement, signed on 21 July 1992, has held to the present day.

The 1997 Moscow memorandum, was an agreement governing relations between Moldova and Transnistria aimed at solving the Transnistria conflict.

In compliance with the final clause of the memorandum, the relations between the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria shall be developed within the framework of a common state, within the borders of Moldovan SSR. The Russian Federation and Ukraine stated their readiness to become guarantors of the Transnistrian status observance, as well as of the memorandum's provisions. Chişinău and Tiraspol have decided to sustain the establishment of legal and state relations: the mutual decision coordination, inclusively regarding prerogatives delimitation and delegation, the safeguard of mutual security, the Transnistrian participation in the process of accomplishment of the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova. The memorandum also gave Transnistria the right to independently conduct foreign economic activity, although later the memorandum provisions had widely diverging legal and political interpretations in Chişinău and Tiraspol.

The memorandum was presented in mid-November 2003 by Russia, as a detailed proposal for a united asymmetric federal Moldavian state. First published in Russian on the website of Transnistria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the text was promoted by a Russian politician Dmitry Kozak, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin and one of the key figures in his presidential team. For Transnistria, the memorandum presented an end to the previous Moscow policy, which assumed that the region would have equal status in federation with the rest of the country.

Sharing of places in the “Senatul” proposed by Kozak. 13 places for the Republic of Moldova, 9 for Transnistria, and 4 for Gagauzia, creating a symmetry of 50%

Some of the terms of the memorandum included:[1]

The new Federation was to be a neutral demilitarized state. Until its complete demilitarization, No more than 2000 personnel from the Russian Armed Forces were to be stationed for the transitional period, no longer than until 2020.

The government of federation was to be divided into three categories: those of the federation, those of individual subjects, and those of joint competencies. A lower house, elected by proportional representation, would pass legislation by simple majority. 13 senators were to be elected by the federal lower house, nine by Transnistria and four by Gagauzia. Laws concerning the Federation (Moldova excluding Transnistria and Gagauzia) would not need ratification by the Senate. The plan presented several issues risking causing a blockage in policy-making,[3] as all organic laws would need the assent of the Senate, while the Senate's composition granted disproportionate representation relative to population size, as by 2004, Transnistria and Gagauzia made up only 18% of Moldova's total population, giving Transnistria effective veto power over Moldovan politics and legislation.[4]

The subjects of the Federation had the right to secede from the Federation only in the case of the decision to accede to another State, or in connection with the complete loss of its sovereignty by the Federation. The withdrawal of the Subject of the Federation from the Federation was to be carried out on the basis of decisions taken at a national referendum of the Subject of the Federation appointed by the legislative body of the state power of the Subject of the Federation in the presence of grounds for withdrawal.

The Federation was to hold sole authority over core national matters, such as:

• Federal state property and management;
• Currency regulation and monetary emission;
• Air, rail, and water transport;

• Foreign policy, foreign trade, international treaties, and issues of war and peace;

The subjects of the Federation were to exercise authority over matters not assigned to the Federation, including:

• Regulation of foreign economic activity within their powers and using own funds;
• Establishment of their own systems of public authorities;
• Administrative legislation concerning their own authorities;
• Local self-government and related guarantees;

Protesters against the federalization in Chisinau holding a banner saying “We are Romanians” in Romanian

Vladimir Voronin, the president of Moldova, has initially been quoted as giving qualified support for the proposal, reportedly saying that the “Moldovan society will succeed in finding the optimal solution after studying, discussion and improvement of this document”.[5] However, later in 2005, he made a statement rejecting the memorandum because of contradiction with the Moldovan constitution, which defines Moldova as a neutral state that could not allow any foreign troops on its soil, or join military alliances.[6][4]

President of Transnistria, Igor Smirnov, has characterized the document as a compromise able to normalize relations between Moldova and Transnistria, further asking for a Treaty providing a Russian military deployment in Moldova for 30 years, not mentioned in the proposal.[5]

The Moldovan public vehemently rejected the Kozak Memorandum. In the days following the publication of the Russian proposal, large demonstrations against the Kozak memorandum took place in Chișinău. Moldova's leadership declined to sign the memorandum without coordination with the European organizations.

Moldova and the Kozak memorandum was a key issue at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe ministerial meeting in Maastricht in December 2003, and disagreement between Russia on the one hand, and the EU and the US on the other on Moldova, was one of the principal reasons why a final joint declaration was not adopted after the meeting.

After the failure of the signing of the Memorandum, relations between Transnistria and Moldova deteriorated Negotiations resumed only in 2005 within the framework of the regional organization GUAM on the basis of proposals submitted by the Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

• Full text of Kozak memorandum (in Russian)