Carpov and Shtanski discus confidence-building, freedom of movement issues

Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Eugen Carpov and Tiraspol's chief negotiator in the Transnistrian settlement, Nina Shtanski, have discussed issues related to building confidence among the two sides of the Nistru River and to ensuring freedom of movement, including of road and rail transportation, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a press release from the Reintegration Bureau it was said that Eugen Carpov and Nina Shtanski met at the OSCE Mission's office in Bender, ahead of the next round of 5+2 talks scheduled for September 12 and 13 in Vienna. Discussions addressed some of the items on the Vienna agenda, in particular the re-opening of a bridge near Gura Bicului village, cooperation in the area of education and the problem of the schools located in Transnistria that use the Latin script. The meeting was also attended by the coordinators of the work groups responsible for road and rail transportation and education from both Chisinau and Tiraspol. The meeting was also an occasion to discuss the steps taken following up the previous round of 5+2 negotiations at the level of specialized work groups and to establish priorities for the next period. For this purpose, experts from Chisinau and Tiraspol are due to meet within 10 days to identify concrete solutions in each field. In the context of ensuring freedom of movement for the people on both sides of the Nistru, the Chisinau delegation put special emphasis on the need to remove artificial barriers created in Tiraspol on administrative level, including to ensure freedom of movement for Moldovan state and public officials. In the human rights department, as a follow-up to previous steps, Eugen Carpov reiterated the position that it is important that Alexandru Ursu, a Moldovan national imprisoned in Transnistria, is set free. The human rights organization Promo-LEX earlier reported that Alexandru Ursu, a police officer in a village located in the Security Zone, was arrested in July 2009 by Transnistrian militsiya on charges of fraud. In May 2010, following what appeared to be an unfair trial, he was sentenced to 15 years in a Transnistrian prison, where conditions were reported to be inhuman and degrading.