Moldovan deputy premier, representatives of mediators, observers within 5+2 format discuss negotiating process

Chisinau, 12 July /MOLDPRES/ - Deputy Prime Minister Vasilii Sova today had a meeting with a delegation made up of representatives of mediators and observers (the so-called 3+2 format) of the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Transnistrian Settlement Process (the 5+2 negotiation format), on a working visit to Moldova, the Reintegration Policies Bureau has reported.  

The 3+2 format delegation was led by Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office on behalf of Slovakia for the Transnistrian Settlement Process Franco Frattini.     

The meeting was a continuation of the dialogue held on the Transnistria-related issues after the carrying out of working meetings in the same format with the president and prime minister of Moldova. 

The discussions were focused on subjects contained in the Berlin plus package, achievements recorded in the implementation of the commitments agreed upon in the negotiating process. The sides paid special attention to the telecommunications sector, free movement and conditions of work of the Latin-script schools from the Transnistrian region.   

The participants in the meeting stressed the need to complete the agenda with other topical issues, which can contribute to strengthening the confidence-building measures, highlighting the possibility to identify, in the near future, a viable solution on the issue of resuming the process of temporary customs clearance of oil products through the border checkpoint Colbasna-Slobodka.  

The deputy prime minister emphasized Chisinau’s priorities in the process of talks, among which:

1. Ensuring the observance of the fundamental human rights and freedoms and free movement between the two banks of Dniester, aspects with humanitarian character, including the guaranteeing of the right to education.  

2. Settlement of commercial and problems from the viewpoint of the single economic area.  

3. Promotion of confidence-building measures in the sphere of ensuring the law and order and defence.  .

4. Resumption of the negotiations on the comprehensive and sustainable settlement of the Transnistrian file. 

Also, the deputy prime minister appealed to the mediators and observers with an initiative to back the implementation, in the long run, of major infrastructure projects and which are able to connect economic agents and support the development of trade between the two banks of Dniester; a first idea in this respect is the resumption of the financing of the project on reconstruction of the national road Chisinau-Tiraspol-Kuchurgan.   

The participants in the meeting backed the proposal to create needed premises for the holding of an official meeting of the 5+2 format of talks in next autumn (the last meeting took place in Rome on 29-30 May 2018) and organizing a new Bavarian conference titled, Confidence-building Measures in Transnistrian Conflict Settlement Process, (the previous conference was held in the city of Bad Reichenhall, Germany, on 12-13 July 2016).   

At the same time, the sides stressed the necessity to maintain an approach based on the achievement of concrete results and taking solid commitments, with the boosting of the interaction within the format of the political representatives on behalf of Chisinau and Tiraspol and the sectoral working groups for the pragmatic settlement of the most pressing problems and in the interest of the residents.