OSCE Chairmanship welcomes ground-breaking decision to open bridge over Dniester/Nistru River

VIENNA/CHISINAU, 3 November 2017 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process, Ambassador Wolf Dietrich Heim, today welcomed the decision by the Sides on opening the Gura Bicului-Bychok bridge in Moldova. The bridge connects both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River and has not been in operation since the 1992 conflict.

“The signing of the Protocol Decision today in Chisinau has great symbolic and practical significance,” said Ambassador Heim. “This is good news for the local population on both sides of the river. It opens a crucial civilian transportation artery, improves connectivity, can enhance trade, and helps to build confidence between the Sides.”

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, paid special attention to the issue of the bridge during his visit to Moldova in February 2017.

Following the signing ceremony today on the premises of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Head of Mission and co-mediator in the 5+2 process, Michael Scanlan, called it “an historic day” and expressed confidence that additional agreements would be reached in the next few months.

Special Representative Heim commended the work of the chief negotiators and the willingness of the respective leaderships that led to this agreement, and stressed the crucial role of the OSCE Mission to Moldova on the ground. “This is a joint success for both the Sides and the international partners in the 5+2 format. We hope that this can facilitate further steps and look forward to holding a 5+2 meeting in Vienna,” the Special Representative added.

Talks in the 5+2 format include the representatives of the Sides, mediators and observers – Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union.

The goal of the 5+2 talks is to work out the parameters of a comprehensive settlement based on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders with a special status for Transdniestria, as reconfirmed by all 57 OSCE participating States in the Ministerial Council Statement agreed in Hamburg on 9 December 2016.