Resumption of talks in 5+2 format on Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship's agenda

The immediate resumption of the official talks in the 5+2 format and the observance of the human rights in the Transnistrian region are the priorities underlined by the Moldovan delegation in a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council held on January 13, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Moldovan officials stressed the necessity of continuing the efforts to set free journalist Ernest Vardanyan and Ilie Cazac, who are illegally held in prisons in Tiraspol, to obtain the pullout of the foreign troops from Moldova's territory, and to transform the current peacekeeping operation into an internationally-mandated civil mission of observers. The new OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis said the major objective this year is to fully implement all the commitments made by the participating states in all the three security areas. Among the priorities of the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship, he mentioned the promotion and ensuring of the observance of human rights, the freedom of the press, democracy and the state of law, and the settlement of the long-lasting conflicts in the OSCE area, including the Transnistrian one. The Permanent Council, one of the main regular decision-making bodies of the Organization, convenes weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.