Special Representative of the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship reaffirms the need for results-oriented dialogue in the Transdniestrian Settlement Process

CHISINAU, 20 January 2017 – Ambassador Wolf Dietrich Heim today concluded his first visit to the region in his new capacity as the Special Representative of the Austrian OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process. His visit included meetings with the leadership in Chisinau and Tiraspol and representatives of the 5+2 format.

In Chisinau, Ambassador Heim met with Prime Minister Pavel Filip, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration and Chief Negotiator Gheorghe Balan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Lilian Darii, and Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu.

In Tiraspol, the Special Representative met with leader Vadim Krasnoselsky, Speaker of the Supreme Soviet Alexandr Shcherba and Chief Negotiator Vitaly Ignatiev.

“During my visit, I positively assessed the commitment of the sides to engage in a substantive, result-oriented dialogue put forward last year by the 5+2 international partners under the German OSCE Chairmanship.  In that context, I underlined the importance to remain focused on the implementation of the Berlin Protocol and other issues important to both sides, such as the Dubasari farmland issue, the operation of the Latin script schools and freedom of movement of people and goods. This approach will strengthen mutual confidence, advance the settlement process and improve the lives of people on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River,” said Ambassador Heim.

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 format is to work out the parameters of the 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. This objective was reconfirmed by all 57 OSCE participating States in the Ministerial Statement on the Negotiations on the Transdniestrian Settlement Process in Hamburg on 9 December 2016.