Five-plus-two negotiations on Transnistrian conflict settlement held in Ukraine
The first meeting of the five-plus-two format negotiations on the Transnistrian conflict settlement, under the Ukrainian OSCE chairmanship aegis, were held in Lvov, Ukraine on 18-19 February. Moldova’s official delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Eugen Carpov, the Bureau for Reintegration has reported.
The officials continued discussions on issues approached at previously held meetings, special attention being paid to subjects related to the free movement of people, the transport means and goods, as well as to the re-opening of the Gura Bicului bridge. The talks were based on a draft document on the basis of which the sides agreed to continue the negotiations.
The officials also examined issues included in the social-economic basket, especially the Moldovan authorities’ initiative of creating a single economic area on both banks of the Dniester. Moldova’s political representative underlined the special importance of reaching this goal on the basis of a joint elaborated approach for the economic and trade sectors in order to solve the stringent issues faced by businessmen. The Moldovan side believes that such concept has to be worked out by specialized working groups with the participation of international experts.
The sides also examined some aspects related to the functioning of the Transnistria-based Moldova-run schools, especially the report presented by the OSCE Mission to Moldova. The sides emphasized the importance of avoiding unilateral actions, which might lead to the worsening of working conditions in the educational institutions.
The participants in the talks also broached the functioning of the evacuation mechanism of the existent used radioactive elements in the Transnistrian region. The officials proposed to approve a special procedure that would allow introducing radioactive elements in the region in order to be used by regional enterprises. The sides shall continue approaching the subject at next meetings.
The sides also exchanged views on civil aviation. The Moldovan representatives informed the participants in the negotiations that the discussions on the matter and the solutions, which might be elaborated in perspective, should be based on Moldova´s assumed international standards and commitments.
The OSCE Mission to Moldova presented a report on the working groups’ activity and their main working areas in 2012. The international partners expressed their willingness to further back the activity of these working groups.
The negotiations completed with a videoconference, where the Chisinau and Tiraspol [the administrative centre of the breakaway Transnistrian region] political representatives presented the meeting’s results and answered to journalists’ questions.
We remind you that the five-plus-two negotiations are held by the Chisinau and Tiraspol representatives with the support of the OSCE, Russian and Ukrainian mediators and of the EU and the US observers.
The sides agreed that the next five-plus-two format negotiations meeting will be held in Odessa, Ukraine in May 2013.
Adapted from: MOLDPRES