Prime Minister Iurie Leanca will have a first meeting with the Transnistrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk in Tiraspol at Russia Hotel on September 23. A pres briefing will be given in the end. The discussions will center on the full resumption of freight transportation by trains, the freedom of movement, the problem of Romanian-language schools and the status of the Transnistrian region as an integral part of the Republic of Moldova.

Contacted by IPN, political analyst Anatol Taranu said that for Chisinau it is important now to restore the contacts with the representatives of Transnistria so as to prevent the deterioration of the situation in the Transnistrian region if not into an open conflict than into a worse state.

“As regards agreements, I don’t think they will be spectacular. It is the first meeting with representatives of the Transnistrian administration and it is actually important. As to the third basket of the negotiations, which refers to the status of the Transnistrian region, I think they will not get to it. They will discuss economic maters, the freedom of movement and other issues,” said Anatol Taranu.

The next round of the Transnistrian conflicts settlement talks in the 5+2 format will take place in Brussels on October 3.