Demonstrated political will needed to unlock benefits of package of eight, says OSCE Special Representative for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process

CHISINAU, 25 May 2017 – The Special Representative of the Austrian OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process, Ambassador Wolf Dietrich Heim, today concluded his fourth visit to the region where he met chief negotiators of the sides in Chisinau and Tiraspol.

During his visit, Heim brought the chief negotiators together for their first meeting since 14 March 2017 to discuss what actions they are ready to take to reach agreements on the eight issues that they themselves have defined as priorities. Heim underscored that progress on any of these issues will have a very real and positive impact on people’s lives on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River.

“At this point, in many areas the technical issues have been worked out and only political will is required for the sides to reach an agreement on any one of the eight issues,” said Heim. “Whether they demonstrate the political courage to unlock the benefits of these agreements for people on both banks rests in their hands.”

Doing so would be in keeping with the constructive, results-oriented approach to dialogue endorsed by the 57 OSCE participating States – including representatives of the mediators and observers – in the OSCE Ministerial Statement of December 2016 as the way to advance the settlement process.

“The sides have an equal position in the 5+2 process and both have a responsibility to engage constructively,” said Heim. “At the same time, the Republic of Moldova as the state has the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and take the initiative to make real progress at this juncture.”

Talks in the 5+2 format include the representatives of the sides, mediators and observers – Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union. The goal of the 5+2 format is to work out the parameters of the comprehensive settlement based on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders, with a special status for Transdniestria, as reconfirmed by all 57 OSCE participating States in the Ministerial Council Statement agreed in Hamburg on 9 December 2016.