Moldovan deputy premier meets OSCE special representative for Transnistrian settlement

Chisinau, 22 March /MOLDPRES/- A new online consultation meeting was held today between Deputy Prime Minister Olga Cebotari and OSCE Special Representative for the Transnistrian settlement Thomas Mayr-Harting, the Office for Reintegration Policy has reported.

The talks  between the two officials focused mainly on the dynamics and essence of the dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol, highlighting that this year there have already been two meetings of political representatives and six meetings of sectoral working groups, including two in the car transport and two in health care, as well as the need to unblock the activities on the platform of the Joint Control Commission in order to solve the most acute problems in the Security Zone.

The deputy premier recalled that the implementation of measures to effectively combat coronavirus infection on both banks of the Dniester is a priority this year and said that at the initiative of the Moldovan side, together with the WHO, two meetings were held by health experts to coordinate the measures of organizing immunization against COVID-19 and three training seminars for medical staff on the use of vaccines and protocol for clinical management of COVID-19 infections, and part of the vaccine doses delivered for the Republic of Moldova are transferred to hospitals and health centers in the region.

A special attention was paid to the issues in the car transport sector, being given the dynamics of the interaction between the relevant experts, the measures and efforts to streamline and ensure the functionality of registration points of vehicles in Tiraspol and Râbnița.

Respect for human rights in the Transnistrian region and the restoration of free movement in / from the eastern districts of the country are key issues for the Moldovan government and urged the mobilization of efforts under the auspices of the OSCE to return to the international standards.

Regarding the issues in the so-called Berlin + package, it was pointed out that the Moldovan side emphasizes the need to return to the situation up to the pandemic and then further advance the processes, keeping all formats of dialogue active, including planning the visit of mediators and observers in the near future in the Republic of Moldova and then organizing a potential round of the 5 + 2 negotiation format.

Finally, the firm conviction was expressed that joint efforts will succeed in maintaining a productive dialogue able to further boost the processes in order to make further progress in the negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement.

photo: Office of Reintegration Policies