OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Sebastian Kurz, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, is visiting Chisinau and Tiraspol in order to form an impression on the spot. The Austrian official made such a statement in a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Europa Integration of Moldova Andrei Galbur, IPN reports.

“In the Republic of Moldova, the OSCE takes part in the Transnistrian conflict settlement talks in the 5+2 format and in this regard we hope that this year, when we hold the OSCE Chairmanship, we will be able to solve the problems of the persons involved in the Transnistrian conflict,” stated Sebastian Kurz.

For his part, Andrei Galbur said his counterpart’s visit is a positive signal showing the special importance that the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship attaches to the Transnistrian dispute. “I’m confident that the Transnistrian conflict settlement process during its term will be consistent and productive,” stated the minister.

According to him, in the meeting they conferred on topical items from the Transnistrian conflict settlement agenda and on aspects of the bilateral Moldovan-Austrian relations. “I pleaded for the extension of the list of items on the negotiation agenda defined in the Berlin Protocol last year by discussing problems that continue to preoccupy us such as the free movement of persons, goods and services between the two sides of the Nistru, opening of the bridge near Gura Bacului and Bacioc villages, ensuring of conditions needed for the Moldovan-administered Latin-script schools in Transnistria to wok normally, ensuring of the Dubasari farmer’s free access to their land situated beyond the Tiraspol-Rybnitsa road and of the observance of human rights in the Transnistrian region,” said Andrei Galbur.

The officials also considered the organization of a new meeting in the 5+2 format in Vienna in the second quarter of this year to continue to discuss the agenda of the negotiation process.