The Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process meets Russian representatives

VIENNA, 29 December 2021 — Following a request from the Russian side, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process, Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, met today in Vienna with the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, Dmitri Kozak, as well as with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Andrey Rudenko. Mr. Mayr-Harting was joined by Ambassador Tobias Lorentzson, Deputy Head of the Swedish Mission to the OSCE and Ms. Beata Baranska, First Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Poland to the OSCE, representing the current and incoming OSCE Chairs respectively.

In the course of the exchange, Ambassador Mayr-Harting expressed his satisfaction that the 57 Participating States of the OSCE had once again been able to agree, on the occasion of the 28^th Ministerial Council of the OSCE in Stockholm, a Ministerial Statement reiterating their strong resolve to attain a comprehensive, peaceful and sustainable settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict based on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders with a special status for Transdniestria that fully guarantees the human, political, economic and social rights of its population; and that this statement had also confirmed the role of the “5+2” format as the only mechanism to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable settlement.

Ambassador Mayr-Harting welcomed the interaction achieved in 2021 between the Sides in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and also positively noted the increasing number of meetings and Working Groups between the Sides during this year. At the same time, he regretted that it had not been possible to convene a meeting of the Permanent Conference either in 2020 or 2021 and welcomed the commitment of all concerned to hold a result-oriented meeting in this format as soon as possible.

Regarding forthcoming work in the settlement process, he expressed the opinion that continued efforts towards the implementation of existing agreements remained of priority importance. He also underlined that the Mediators and Observers should continue to encourage the Sides to develop joint proposals on further confidence-building measures, based on the progress achieved in the implementation of the “Berlin-plus package”. In this context, the Special Representative emphasised the need for intensified efforts regarding the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in view of continuing serious concerns about the situation on the ground.