Medvedev and Smirnov agreed that Transnistria talks will proceed in trilateral setting

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Transnistria's leader Igor Smirnov have agreed that talks on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict will proceed in a trilateral format, Info-Prim Neo reports, citing the Russian and Transnistrian media. This announcement was made by Natalia Timakova, head of the Russian presidential press service, following the meeting between Medvedev and Smirnov in Sochi on Sept. 3. Timakova didn't say which exactly the three sides are, but mentioned that, for now, negotiations will continue at a working level and later could be taken to a higher level. Igor Smirnov announced that Transnistria removed the freeze on contacts with Chisinau imposed in mid August in the aftermath of the events in Georgia. Earlier, on Aug. 25, Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin also met with Dmitri Medvedev in Sochi to discuss the Transnistrian issue. Voronin stated then that the conflict must be solved only at the negotiation table, in the five-plus-two format. Voronin also suggested that a potential solution to the conflict should be based on a law adopted by the Moldovan Parliament in 2005, which envisages a broad autonomy for Transnistria in a reunited Moldova.