The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly reasserted its full support for a comprehensive, just and viable solution to the Transnistrian conflict, based on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, with a special status granted to the Transnistrian region. In a Declaration on Moldova, the OSCE PA encourages the next steps for ensuring stability and transparency and reducing the military presence in the conflict region, including by finishing the withdrawal of the Russian forces and munitions from Moldova’s territory, IPN reports.

In his speech within the OSCE PA session, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that while this conflict is fortunately no longer violent, the personal and economic ties are torn and the development of a whole region is blocked. A month ago, a new impetus was given to the Transnistrian conflict settlement talks with the holding of the first meeting in the 5+2 format during the last two years.

In a speech on the Declaration on Moldova, Democratic MP Sergiu Sarbu, who heads Moldovan Parliament’s delegation to the OSCE PA, said that Moldova approves of the resumption of the official talks in the 5+2 format in Berlin this June, after a hiatus of two years. He thanked the German OSCE Chairmanship for its efforts to restart the negotiation process, which can be called a common success of all the sides involved in this process.

The 25th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, entitled “25 Years of Parliamentary Cooperation: Building Trust by Dialogue”, brought together about 300 MPs from over 50 countries. The session was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on July 1-5.