Brussels hosts fourth round of five-plus-two talks on Transnistrian settlement

The fourth round of five-plus-two negotiations on the Transnistrian conflict settlement was held in Brussels under the aegis of the Ukraine’s OSCE Chairmanship October 3.

The Moldovan delegation is headed by Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Eugen Carpov, the Bureau for reintegration has reported.

The participants in the negotiations welcomed the signing by Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Tiraspol’s leader Yevgeny Shevchuk of a protocol decision on the prolongation of the mechanism of freight trains’ movement across the Transnistrian region, as well as the fostering of the dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol at the level of political representatives and sector-related working groups.

Special attention was paid to the issues on ensuring the conditions needed for people’s free movement. In this context, the Moldovan delegation informed the participants in the meeting about the authorities’ actions in monitoring and recording migration flows, especially, the foreign citizens coming to Moldova through the central (Transnistrian) segment of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. The sides stressed that these measures did not apply to the residents from the Transnistrian region. Also, the participants were informed on the Moldovan authorities’ intention to exclude imposing fines on residents from the left bank of the Dniester river, who are owners of foreign identity cards. The decision will contribute to promoting the free movement of people. The delegations positively appreciated the unveiled news.

Also, the sides discussed the problem on a bridge across the Dniester nearby the villages of Gura Bicului and Bicioc. The international partners expressed interest to provide financial means to restore the bridge and related infrastructure. At the same time, they stressed the need to open the traffic across the bridge.

Other issues were focused on the protection of ecosystem of the Dniester river and the prospects for removing the funicular between Ribnita and Rezina cities.

The round of negotiations ended with a video conference, where the political representatives on behalf of Chisinau and Tiraspol presented the outcomes of the negotiations and answered questions by journalists from both banks of the Dniester.

The sides agreed to continue the talks on the issues set on the comprehensive agenda of the five-plus-two negotiations.

The next round of talks is expected to be held in Kiev in November.

Adapted from moldpres.md