OSCE Chairmanship welcomes agreement by sides in Transdniestrian settlement to resume rail services

DUBLIN, 30 March 2012 - Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office for the Trandniestrian settlement process, welcomed today’s agreement allowing the resumption of full rail traffic through the region.

The agreement was announced by Prime Minister Vlad Filat and Transdniestrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk. Talks between chief political negotiators Eugen Carpov and Nina Shtanski were hosted by the OSCE Mission to Moldova earlier this week.

“I welcome the agreement to restore full railway services for people and freight,” said Fouéré. “People on both sides of the river and local businesses will benefit, and I commend the parties for their constructive and problem-solving approach to issues of mutual concern.”

“The progress we have seen here is encouraging as we have just resumed official talks in the settlement process, and I am looking forward to my meetings in Chisinau and Tiraspol next week,” said Fouéré.

Ambassador Fouéré will be in the region from 2 to 5 April, with meetings in Kyiv, Odessa, Tiraspol and Chisinau. On Monday, 2 April, he will meet Ambassador Igor Kharchenko, Ukraine’s Special Representative for the Transdniestrian Settlement, in Kyiv. On 3 April he will be in Odessa to meet Udo Burkholder, the head of the EU Border Assistance Mission to Ukraine and Moldova, and will then travel by train to Tiraspol.

He will meet the Transdniestrian authorities as well as co-chairs of the joint working groups on confidence-building measures and civil society representatives on 4 April.

On Thursday, 5 April, he will be in Chisinau for meetings with the Moldovan authorities and working group co-chairs.

Amb. Fouéré will be available to the media for comments at 19.45 on 3 April at the Tiraspol Railway Station. For other details on the visit, please contact the OSCE Mission to Moldova Press Office, Per Enerud +373 22 887 813.