Ukraine hopes upcoming 5+2 meeting in Odessa will be fruitful

Ukraine expects that at the next 5+2 official meting, due in Odessa, Ukraine in May, the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria would manage to put forth concrete proposals and to start preparing documents that could boost up the relations between Chisinau and Tiraspol, regarding the settlement of social and economic issues, as well as of the transport-related questions. This statement was made by Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Sergey Pirozhkov at a meeting with Transnistrian president Yevgeny Shevchuk, held in Tiraspol.     

According to the press service of the Transnistrian leader, Yevgeny Shevchuk also voiced hope that this year, within the frameworks of the negotiations; the sides would manage to identify solutions to a string of pressing issues.    

«It is necessary to broaden citizens’ possibilities regarding the crossing of the state border and to solve the problems related to the cargo movement. This way, we will create prerequisites for the stabilization of social and economic situation in Transnistria,» said Yevgeny Shevchuk.    

At the meeting with the speaker of the supreme soviet [Transnsitrian parliament], Mikhail Burla and deputy speaker Efim Kovali, the Ambassador Sergey Pirozhkov discussed the deepening of inter-parliamentary cooperation with Ukraine.       

Ambassador Sergey Pirozhkov said that an inter-factional group of lawmakers, in charge of contributing to the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, was created in the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian Parliament] on March 19. The group, made up of 20 MPs, representing different factions and including the oppositional ones, is headed by a representative of the Ukrainian Communist Party, Sergey Gordienko.  

For his part, Transnistrian parliament speaker Mikhail Burla said that the Transnistrian parliament is also going to set up a similar group that will be dealing with the bilateral relations with the Ukrainian colleagues.    

Speaking of the eventual cooperation between the Moldovan and Transnistrian legislative forums, he said that «if we leave aside the political questions regarding the status of the region, there are many issues of common interests that can be discusses, such as: the management of natural resources, environmental protection measures, border cooperation and the free movement of citizens.»

Adapted from Infotag