Moldovan deputy premier has meeting with representatives of mediators, observers within 5+2 format of negotiations

Chisinau, 3 June /MOLDPRES/ - A meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Olga Cebotari and a delegation made up of representatives of mediators and observers of the Permanent Conference for Political Issues in the Transnistrian Settlement Process (5+2 format of negotiations), on a working visit to Moldova, took place today, according the earlier established agenda, the Reintegration Policies Bureau has reported.   

The delegation of mediators and observers was led by Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Transnistrian Settlement Process on behalf of Sweden Thomas Mayr-Harting.

The meeting was a good occasion to inform the international partners about the present situation in the Chisinau-Tiraspol dialogue, current subjects on the agenda, efforts undertaken by the Moldovan side, as well as to exchange opinions on prospects for the promotion of the Transnistrian settlement process and of summoning the next round of talks in the 5+2 format.  

The sides highlighted that the interaction at the level of the political representatives had been constant this year.

The acting deputy prime minister said the following issues remained foremost for Chisinau:

1. Guaranteeing the observance of human rights and ensuring the free movement between the two banks of Dniester.  

2. Protection of the residents’ health and efficiently combating COVID-19.

3. Settlement of the problems faced by the Latin-script schools, including the one of providing them with their own buildings, as well as by the farmers of the Dubasari district.   

4. Maintaining the functionality and productivity in all formats of negotiations, including in the Joint Control Commission (JCC) and re-launching the works of the 5+2 format, by starting consultations on the parameters of the settlement model.   

As for the human rights sector, Cebotari expressed concern about the illegal detention of Moldova’s citizens in the region and stressed the need to fairly reestablish their rights. She also reiterated the call to sustainably settle the subject on the free movement for all categories of citizens, with the free movement of officials from the right bank of Dniester, who pay private visits or cross settlements of the region.    

The sides also highlighted the registration of a positive dynamic as a result of the measures of combating COVID-19 and varied assistance through medical articles and consignments of vaccines provided by Chisinau as donation to beneficiaries from the left bank of Dniester.

The sides also emphasized the indispensability of advancing the degree of carrying out of the agreements from the Berlin+ conventional package, in particular, on the dimension of ensuring a good work of the Moldovan education institutions, access to farmlands beyond the Rabnita-Tiraspol highway, as well as development of new initiatives meant to support the population: purchasing with the support of foreign donors and putting into circulation of new ferryboats for carrying passengers and goods across the Dniester river, financing the works of capital reconstruction of the Chisinau-Tiraspol-Kuchurgan national road, opening of a new trolley bus line on the route Bender-Varnita-Gura Bacului.     

As for the situation in the Security Zone, the sides stressed the necessity to de-block JCC’s work and remove the infrastructure of the unilateral control posts which infringe the Security Zone’s regime.  

Olga Cebotari also said that, as of 1 September 2021, the participation in the road traffic would be ensured only for the transport means with national matriculation plates and non-commercial of neutral model. At the same time, till the establishment of the final phase of the joint control at the Moldovan-Ukrainian state border, the earlier applied approaches are to be continued as to the imports of goods in the region, with the thorough monitoring of the situation.

Not in the least, the Moldovan deputy PM reminded that snap parliamentary elections would be held in Moldova on 11 July and the non-discriminatory carrying out of the electoral right of all citizens from all the territory of Moldova and from abroad was to be ensured.      

The sides expressed firm confidence that, in the presence of a constant support on behalf of the mediators and observers in the 5+2 format, Chisinau and Tiraspol would manage to achieve tangible results able to stimulate the dialogue between the two sides and advance the Transnistrian settlement process.   

photo: Reintegration Policies Bureau