OSCE will intensify its efforts to settle Transdniestrian issue, OSCE Chairman says

LJUBLJANA, 21 October 2005 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, said today that the Chairmanship was intensifying its efforts to find a sustainable solution for Moldova's Transdniestria region.

"The Slovenian OSCE Chairmanship has so far devoted a considerable amount of time and effort to this end," he said after a meeting on the issue with mediators from the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the OSCE in Ljubljana.

Minister Rupel welcomed the enlargement of the negotiating format with representatives from the European Union and United States, who also for the first time attended today's meeting. "I believe this could offer a fresh impetus to the process of finding a lasting solution," he said.

The Chairman-in-Office also stressed that a lack of progress towards a settlement would only foster instability and prevent economic progress of the region.

"During my visits to Russia, Moldova and Ukraine, I found the representatives of all three countries deeply aware of the need to continue the positive efforts to achieve a peaceful, comprehensive political settlement," he said.

Although Foreign Minister Rupel reiterated that the OSCE would not observe or recognize the elections organized by the Transdniestrian authorities in December, he added that "an OSCE Assessment Mission may be tasked to evaluate conditions for free elections conducted by an International Election Commission at a later stage."