Lib Dems concerned about lack of transparency and professionalism in Transnistria talks

The president of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), Vlad Filat, has expressed his concern about the lack of transparency and professionalism in conducting negotiations on the status of the districts on the left side of the Nistru, a fact which, according to the party, generates speculations and undermines the democratic process in Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a press release published by PLDM on September 4. Following the meeting of Russia's president Dmitri Medvedev with Transnistria's leader Igor Smirnov in Sochi, reports appeared that the 5+2 format would be replaced by a trilateral setting, involving Chisinau, Moscow and Tiraspol. PLDM reminds that Moldova had the experience of a three-sided format, which culminated with the so-called Kozak memorandum, a document which could have “Transnistrianized” the Republic of Moldova. PLDM reiterates its belief that any peaceful, sustainable and equitable solution should be searched for together with the US, the EU, Ukraine and OSCE in the 5+2 format. The party also expresses its conviction that the sustainability of the settlement can not be reached without demilitarizing, decriminalizing and democratizing the region. PLDM urges the government to launch with all speed broad consultations with political parties and civil society with a view to bringing the negotiations on the Transnistrian issue in line with the national interests of Moldova. The party also calls on the government to take all the necessary steps to have Russian troops withdrawn from the territory of the republic, in compliance with the decisions of the OSCE Summit in 1999. Dmitri Medvedev and Igor Smirnov met on September 3 in the Russian resort of Sochi. As announced by the Russian presidential press service, the two agreed that the negotiations on the Transnistrian issue would proceed in trilateral format.