Trilateral consultations on Transnistrian dispute should not be an alternative to talks in 5+2 format, Ukrainian official

The trilateral consultations on the Transnistrian conflict between Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Voronin and Igor Smirnov set to take place in Moscow on March 18 should not be an alternative to the talks in the 5+2 format, Viktor Kryjanovskii, Ukraine’s special representative to the settlement talks, told the Transnistrian foreign minister Vladimir Yastrebchak at a meeting on March 12, Info-Prim Neo’s correspondent in Tiraspol reports. Viktor Kryjanovskii confirmed Ukrainian authorities’ readiness to actively contribute to the resolution of the Transnistrian dispute. He said that President Viktor Yushchenko intends to raise the given subject at a meeting next week. The Ukrainian diplomat also discussed the prospects of solving the Transnistrian conflict at a meeting with Moldova’s Deputy Minister of Reintegration Ion Stavila, which was also attended by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Sergii Pyrozhkov. In a communiqué, the Reintegration Ministry says that in particular, the interlocutors considered the possibilities of resuming the talks in the 5+2 format and aspects of the consultations held until present. “They stressed the importance of promoting the confidence building measures, including by implementing joint projects in the social, economic and humanitarian spheres that can help create an appropriate atmosphere for holding the talks and overcoming the difficulties faced by the people living on the banks of the Nistru,” the communiqué reads. The Moldovan Presidential Office has not confirmed that Vladimir Voronin will participate in the meeting in Moscow.