"Positive spirit" needed to solve problems over Transdniestrian section of Moldova-Ukraine border - OSCE Chairman

BRUSSELS, 8 March 2006 - Concerned about current problems along the Transdniestrian section of the Moldovan-Ukrainian state border, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, has instructed the Organization's Mission in Moldova to consult all parties with a view to finding a solution.

He said the Joint Declaration of the Ukrainian and Moldovan Prime Ministers, made on 30 December 2005, was an important step and, if well implemented, could contribute to an orderly regime of transparency and control along the Ukrainian-Moldovan border.

"However, I have taken note of the anxiety of the Transdniestrian side concerning the implementation of the Agreement, and so I would encourage the Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities to give the parties concerned all the information necessary to implement the Agreement smoothly, " the Chairman-in-Office added.

In this regard, he took note of Russia's decision to send a fact-finding mission.

"I appeal to all parties, including the Transdniestrian side, to work in a positive spirit towards a solution", he said.