Progress in Transdniestrian settlement leads way for conflict resolution in OSCE area, says PA President in Moldova

CHISINAU, 26 June 2018 – Concluding his first visit to Moldova, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) lauded recent achievements in the Transdniestrian settlement process and encouraged both Chisinau and Tiraspol to sustain the momentum of progress in the coming months to create the necessary conditions for a comprehensive and peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“In a period when European security and stability are threatened, Chisinau and Tiraspol are setting a positive example for the rest of the OSCE area, where conflict resolution has most often been characterized by lack of progress,” said President Tsereteli. “The local ownership and leadership demonstrated by Chisinau and Tiraspol in advancing the settlement process, which I have witnessed in my meetings, goes to show that dialogue and persistence produce concrete results and are the way forward.”

PA President Tsereteli and Secretary General Roberto Montella met in Chisinau on Monday with a range of officials, including President Igor Dodon, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Cristina Lesnic, Secretary General of State for Foreign Affairs and European Integration Mihail Capatina and the Moldovan delegation to the OSCE PA led by Serghei Sirbu. Today, in Tiraspol, they held meetings with Transdniestrian leader Vadim Krasnoselsky and the Speaker of the Transdniestrian legislature, Alexander Shcherba.

To visit the left bank of the Dniester/Nistru River, the PA delegation travelled through the Gura Bicului – Bychok bridge, which reopened last November after being closed to traffic since the 1992 conflict. In Tiraspol, the PA delegation also visited a joint vehicle registration office, which will allow for the participation of vehicles from Transdniestria in international traffic starting on 1 September 2018. Three additional practical issues identified in the so-called “package of eight” – apostilization of Transdniestrian university diplomas, access to the Dubasari farmland, and the functioning of the Moldovan Latin-script schools on the left bank – were agreed to at the end of 2017 and are currently being implemented. Technical discussions continue on laying out the implementation steps and timeline for reconnecting the telecommunication networks between the two banks.

“As a result of these agreements, people on both sides of the Dniester/Nistru River can already notice tangible improvements to their daily lives and gradually realize that their futures are linked. These concrete results also demonstrate that both Chisinau and Tiraspol can mutually benefit from this process,” explained President Tsereteli. “In the coming months, I hope the Sides will continue to display such resolve to overcome remaining differences and ensure a long-term and comprehensive settlement.”

In visits to the premises of the OSCE Mission to Moldova in Chisinau and Tiraspol, the PA President praised the valuable work of its team led by Ambassador Michael Scanlan, as well as the constant engagement of successive OSCE Chairmanships, for moving the process forward. President Tsereteli expressed his desire to accelerate the Parliamentary Assembly’s engagement with Moldova and offered the political weight of the PA to highlight OSCE efforts in peacefully resolving conflicts, which are expected to feature prominently at the OSCE PA’s upcoming Annual Session in Berlin (7-11 July 2018).
 
The OSCE PA President also met the Governor of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah, to discuss the importance of promoting an inclusive Moldovan identity and society, as well as good governance and the rule of law, through a fully functioning autonomy in accordance with the 1994 Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia. 

In meetings, President Tsereteli expressed concern over the nullification of the Chisinau mayoral race and its negative effect on the public’s trust in democratic institutions and processes, stressing the need to reinforce the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. President Tsereteli and Secretary General Montella also addressed these issues with extra-parliamentary opposition leader Maia Sandu, as well as civil society representatives and members of the international community.