OSCE Chairman-in-Office issues statement on Moldova

BERN, 20 January 1996 - OSCE Chairman-in-Office; Swiss Foreign Minister Flavio Cotti, issued the following statement from Bern today. The statement was also delivered at today's meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna:

The Chairman-in-Office expresses full satisfaction with the results of his meetings in Chisinau on January 16, 1996. He has noted the importance of the discussions which were held on that occasion, especially the commitment of all participants to continue the negotiating process as the only means to reach a political settlement in Moldova.

The Chairman-in-Office also expresses his appreciation for the Joint Declaration of the Presidents of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine, signed in Moscow on January 19, 1996. This statement is an important step forward in promoting the peaceful negotiated settlement of the conflict through defining the special status of Trans-Dniestria within the internationally recognized boundaries of a sovereign and independent Moldova.

The Chairman-in-Office welcomes the approval given to the role of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, and pledges intensified OSCE efforts to assist in the resolution of this conflict.

The Chairman-in-Office welcomes the determination of the leadership of Moldova and of the local authorities of its Trans-Dniestrian region to reach a durable and definitive solution to the issues which divide them. He regrets that the meeting between the President of the Republic of Moldova and the leader of the Trans-Dniestrian authorities planned on January 31st could not be held and urges them to resume their meeting in the nearest future and continue to meet regularly until the successful conclusion of the negotiations.