OSCE envoy calls for resumption of official 5+2 talks during meeting in Vienna
VIENNA, 15 February 2011 - The first meeting of the participants in the 5+2 Transdniestrian settlement process during the 2011 Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship concluded today in Vienna with the meeting chair calling for the resumption of official talks.
The two-day meeting, chaired by the Chairperson-in-Office’s Special Representative for Protracted Conflicts, Ambassador Giedrius Čekuolis, concentrated on building confidence between the two banks of Nistru/Dniestr river, resolving outstanding problems of freedom of movement and guarantees of the negotiating process, and reinvigorating the working groups on confidence-building measures, with a special emphasis on finalizing a statute regulating the activities of the working groups.
The 5+2 format comprises the sides, mediators and observers in the negotiation process: the Republic of Moldova, Transdniestria, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the OSCE, the United States and the European Union.
Participants agreed on a work plan for 2011 that mandates frequent meeting in the 5+2 format, constant bilateral contacts between the sides, and many confidence-building events. The key issue still remains the renewal of the official negotiations in the 5+2 format leading to a comprehensive settlement acceptable to both banks of Nistru/Dniestr river.
Commenting on the outcome of this informal 5+2 meeting, Čekuolis said: “I really do not see any more obstacles for the resumption of the official 5+2 negotiations: we have a stable government in Chisinau, a desire by the Trandsniestrian authorities to resolve outstanding issues, an ongoing confidence-building process and a favourable international environment. Taken together, these comprise all necessary premises for meaningful settlement talks.”