Discussions on Transdniestria settlement held in Vienna

VIENNA, 8 July 2010 - A two-day meeting of participants in the "5+2" process for settlement of the Transdniestria conflict concluded today. It was held in the presence of Ambassador Bolat Nurgaliyev, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Protracted Conflicts.

The 5+2 includes the sides (the Republic of Moldova and Transdniestria); the mediators (the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the OSCE); and the United States and the European Union as observers.

"This meeting represents a step forward for the negotiating process across a broad spectrum of issues," Ambassador Nurgaliyev said.

Representatives of the sides, the mediators and the observers discussed in depth approaches to resolve problems of freedom of movement that affect the daily lives of people on both sides of the River Dniestr/Nistru.

Representatives likewise reviewed various proposals regarding a system of guarantees for the negotiating process, including on the basis of documents signed in earlier years.

Representatives actively considered and made progress towards achieving the goal they set in March in Vienna and in their Astana meeting in May, with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, of renewing official negotiations in the 5+2 format on a comprehensive political solution, which were suspended in 2006.

Participants of the 5+2 scheduled the next round of meetings in this process to take place in September in Chisinau, Tiraspol and Vienna.