Communiqué of the mediators and observers following their visit to Chisinau and Tiraspol

CHISINAU, 6 April 2016 - On 5 and 6 April 2016, visits to Chisinau and Tiraspol were made by the mediators and the observers in the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Framework of the Negotiation Process on the Transdniestrian Settlement in the 5+2 format.

During their visit, the mediators and observers met in Chisinau with Prime Minister Pavel Filip, Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration and Chief Negotiator Gheorghe Balan, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Andrei Galbur. In Tiraspol, the visiting participants met with Transdniestrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk, Speaker of the Supreme Soviet Vadim Krasnoselsky and Chief Negotiator Vitaly Ignatiev.

The mediators and observers were encouraged by the initial political commitment shown by Chisinau and Tiraspol to reinvigorate the dialogue between the two sides. At the same time, they underscored the need for both sides to work towards a vision of the settlement in accordance with the Belgrade OSCE Ministerial Statement of 4 December 2015, and to take tangible steps towards that objective in 2016.

To that end, the mediators and observers urged the sides to hold 1+1 meetings of the chief negotiators on an active basis, accompanied by frequent and substantive discussions within the Working Groups format. With the commitment and co-operation of the sides, the mediators stand ready to convene substantive political discussions in the 5+2 format in Berlin within the next two months.

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