At a meeting of the 5+2 talks on the Transnistrian Settlement Process in Vienna, political representatives from Chisinau and Tiraspol confirmed progress on several of the eight issues previously identified by the Sides, and made a commitment to finalize the remaining issues at the beginning of next year, stated Ambassador Wolf Dietrich Heim, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian Settlement Process, IPN reports, with reference to a press release of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
“The Sides, together with international partners, further solidified the agreements on several social and economic issues signed in recent days. There is a clear understanding among the participants that the remaining issues will be addressed and swiftly implemented, for the benefit of the population on both banks of the river and the region as a whole,” commended Ambassador Wolf Dietrich Heim. “In particular, the international partners welcomed the commitment by the Sides to solve by February 2018, the remaining details concerning the participation of Transnistrian vehicles in international traffic.”
As a result of the talks, also known as the Permanent Conference for Political Questions in the Framework of the Negotiating Process on the Transnistrian Settlement in the 5+2 Format, the Sides signed a protocol that outlined the recent significant agreements on the ground and made reference for next steps in the negotiations.
“This year highlighted the importance and inter-relationship of the three levels of negotiations on the Transnistrian Settlement Process as they build on each other, from the technical expertise of the Working Groups, the direct political dialogue of the decision-makers, and the joint efforts of the Mediators and Observers in the 5+2 format. The holding this year of a 5+2 meeting on the basis of clear outputs and a focus on substantive issues was a critical factor ensuring its success,” Heim concluded.
Ambassador Michael Scanlan, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, said that the successful 5+2 meeting is the by-product of a year of dedicated work on the part of the Working Groups and the Chief Negotiators supported by the Mission. “The output-based dynamic is a clear outflow of the personal involvement of the last two months by the leaders of both Sides that was highlighted by their meeting on the Gura Bicului-Bychok Bridge to mark its opening after 25 years. Both leaders shared with the press their commitment to ensure that progress on the Settlement Process continues,” stated Scanlan.
At the same time, a press release issued by the Government of Moldova says that the Sides agreed to continue efforts to identity solutions to the other problems from the agenda of the negotiation process, such as the registration of vehicles in the Transnistrian region so that these are admitted to international road traffic, the free movement of persons, goods and services between the two sides of the Nistru, and to also implement other agreements.
