CATAN AND OTHERS v. MOLDOVA AND RUSSIA JUDGMENT 47 Alexandru cel Bun and Evrica Schools had virtually halved between 2007 and 2011, although the numbers at Ştefan cel Mare had remained relatively stable. Overall, the number studying in the Moldovan/Romanian language in Transdniestria had decreased from 2,545 in 2009 to 1,908 in 2011. 132. The Moldovan Government submitted that they had taken all reasonable steps to improve the situation, generally as regards the Transdniestrian conflict and particularly as regards their support for the schools. They declared that the Transdniestrian separatist regime had never been supported or sustained by Moldova. The Moldovan Government’s only objective was to settle the dispute, gain control over the territory and establish the rule of law and respect for human rights. 133. As regards the schools themselves, the Moldovan Government had paid for the rent and refurbishment of the buildings, the teachers’ salaries, educational materials, buses and computers. According to Moldovan law, these applicants, in common with all graduates from schools in Transdniestria, had special privileges in applying for places at Moldovan universities and institutes of higher education. Moreover, the Moldovan Government had raised the Transdniestrian schools’ issue at international level and sought international assistance and mediation, for example, at a conference held under the auspices of the EU and the OSCE in Germany in 2011. The Moldovan Government could not be expected to do more to fulfil its positive obligation in respect of the applicants, given that it exercised no actual authority or control over the territory in question. 134. The steps which Moldova had taken to ameliorate the applicants’ position could be taken as an implicit acknowledgement that their rights had been violated. The Moldovan Government did not contend, therefore, that there had been no violation of the right to education in the present case. Instead, they asked the Court carefully to assess the respective responsibility of each of the respondent States in respect of any such breach of the applicants’ rights. 3. The Russian Government 135. The Russian Government, which denied any responsibility for the acts of the “MRT”, submitted only limited observations with respect to the merits of the case. However, they underlined that Russia could not be held accountable for the acts of the “MRT” police in storming the school buildings or the “MRT” local authorities for shutting off water and electricity supplies. They emphasised that Russia had been involved in the schools’ crisis solely in the role of mediator. Together with Ukrainian and OSCE mediators, they had sought to help the parties to resolve the dispute. Moreover, they pointed out that from September-October 2004, following this international mediation, the problems had been resolved and the children at the three schools were able to resume their education.