Chisinau, Tiraspol representatives sign protocol on implementation of agreements approved within Transnistrian conflict

Chisinau, 30 May /MOLDPRES/ - The official representatives of Chisinau and Tiraspol today signed a protocol under which they assumed responsibility to implement those six agreements signed by the sides in November 2017 and April 2018. Statements to this effect were made at a round of talks in the 5+2 format, held in Rome on 29 and 30 May.    

The participants in the official meeting discussed the progress made by Chisinau and Tiraspol in the process of implementing the commitments set in the so-called Berlin plus package, as well as other topical subjects on the agenda of negotiations. Also, they unveiled priorities in the Transnistrian settlement process for the next period.      

Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian Settlement Process on behalf of Italy Franco Frattini chaired the discussions. Frattini thanked the participants for the efforts made during discussions. “We should be well aware of the fact that the discussions and decisions taken have direct impact on residents. We have managed to make a substantial assessment and analyze the subsequent actions. We reiterate that we will provide every needed support to achieve progress and solve the problems for the good of the citizens,” Frattini said.  

Deputy Prime Minister, political representative on behalf of Chisinau Cristina Lesnic said that the participants had discussed residents’ expectations and identifying solutions which can back the process of Transnistrian settlement.  

“The citizen is the priority No 1 of Moldova; therefore, we want to get only benefits for the residents from both banks of Dniester. We had more complex discussions and we promoted, first of all, the interest of the citizens. We evaluated the stage of decisions’ implementation. We discussed the mechanism of recognition of graduation diplomas, which works already. Another subject discussed was the Latin-script schools, peasants’ access to farmlands from the region, as of 1 August this year, the fixed telephony, functionality of the bridge between the settlements Gura Bacului and Bacioc, as well as access of vehicles from the region to the international traffic, which will be possible starting from the next autumn. We want to make all efforts necessary to achieve success and remove the obstacles which would hinder the evolution of the Transnistrian settlement process,” Lesnic said.      

For his part, the political representative of the Transnistrian region, Vitaly Ignatyev, said that the Transnistrian side was assuming the implementation of all earlier signed agreements. “We appreciate the productive discussions held in the 5+2 format. The fact that the sides have earlier signed more important protocols showed us that we can achieve positive results due to the political will. We reiterate that we want to carry out all agreements. We praise the positive results; nevertheless, we want to record progress in the settlement of criminal files opened against persons from the region. In continuation, we will monitor the implementation of agreements and will act in line with the citizens’ priorities,” Ignatyev noted.    

The meeting brought together representatives of the sides, mediators and observers from Chisinau and Transnistrian region, OSCE, Russia, Ukraine, as well as the European Union and the USA.

The last round of talks in the 5+2 format took place in Vienna, Austria, in November 2017.

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor A. Raileanu)