Moldovan premier meets OSCE chairperson-in-office

Chisinau, 26 July /MOLDPRES/ - Prime Minister Pavel Filip today had a meeting with Chairperson-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Foreign Minister of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the government’s communication and media relations department has reported.   

The dialogue was focused on the Transnistrian conflict settlement process and facilitating the five-plus-two negotiations, as well as on the bilateral framework of cooperation. 

The PM thanked the head of the German diplomacy for the support provided; he described the present visit as a gesture of solidarity and commitment, to identify a comprehensive and sustainable solution to the Transnistrian conflict. “I wanted to thank, in particular, the German OSCE chairmanship for energetic efforts made, in order to revive, after an almost two-year break, the five-plus-two talks, with an eloquent argument to this effect being the Berlin meeting from 2-3 June and the Bavaria conference on confidence building measures from 12-13 July this year,” the prime minister noted.    

At the same time, Pavel Filip reiterated the Moldovan authorities’ firm determination to further contribute to enforcement of the provisions of the Berlin Protocol, both within the working groups and at the level of political representations. At the same time, the prime minister stressed that it was important to settle the social and economic problems faced by the citizens from both banks of Dniester, especially the residents of the security zone. “We must remove the obstacles to the free movement of people, goods and services, to ensure the good work of the Latin-script schools and the free access for farmers from the Dubasari district to the agricultural lands placed beyond the Tiraspol-Ribnita highway. In this context, I highlighted our interest in the opening of a bridge nearby the Gura-Bicului – Bicioc settlements as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Pavel Filip said.    

For his part, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that efforts had been made on the last period to revive the dialogue on the Transnistrian conflict settlement. At the same time, he noted that the authorities must make sure that the discussions would be substantive, so as to generate solutions to the tasks set. “We discussed present problems, which can be settled now, among which the appostilization of university diplomas and settling the issue of matriculation plates. I am sure that the discussions underway will lead to success as soon as possible,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.   

In the end of the meeting, the PM reiterated the Moldovan authorities’ interest in starting the five-plus-two discussions on political issues, dealing with developing the legal status of the Transnistrian region as component part of Moldova.  

(Editor A. Raileanu)