JCC fails to formulate appeal for withdrawing police posts from security zone

The Joint Control Commission (JCC) Thursday did not manage to work out an appeal to the Moldovan administration and the self-proclaimed Tiraspol authorities to remove the police posts from the security zone. Ion Leahu, Moldova’s representative to the Commission, told Info-Prim Neo that they could not agree on the text of the appeal because the representatives of Tiraspol put up political proposals that could not be accepted. In particular, they said that the document will be signed only if the direct negotiations or the talks in the 5+2 format are resumed, but this is not within the Commission’s competence, Leahu said. In another development, Leahu said that in 2008, the Moldovan delegation to the JCC intends to ensure the implementation of the Basic Agreement of 1992 regarding the principles of solving the Transnistrian dispute and the Agreement of March 20, 1998 concerning the measures designed to build reciprocal trust and develop the relations between Moldova and Transnistria. It will also take steps to have Chisinau’s initiative put forward at yearend 2007 adopted. The initiative envisages the withdrawal of the fixed posts of the peacekeeping forces in order to further demilitarise the security zone and to remove the obstacles hindering the free movement. The Commission will come together for a new meeting on January 17 to discuss the given document again.