Tiraspol, 18 March. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Neither Moldova nor Pridnestrovie are ready for the visit of mediators and observers to the 5+2 negotiation format scheduled for April, said the acting minister of the PMR, Vitaly Ignatyev, following a meeting with his Moldovan counterpart, vice premier and director of the Reintegration Bureau Gheorghe Balan. The dialogue took place at Bendery's OSCE Mission office.
«Unfortunately, we can state that we are not ready for the 3+2 visit. We are not ready, and it is not because Pridnestrovie have nothing to propose, but because the Moldovan side is sabotaging substantive work," said the diplomat.
The minister noted that the PMR and Moldova had committed to work out by the visit of VIPs specific initiatives aimed at solving a number of acute issues, establishing a climate of confidence and enhancing citizens' living standards. To implement these tasks, Pridnestrovie had put forward a whole range of proposals for, among other things, settling problems in the sphere of railway and motor transportation. Moldovan experts took a break to carefully examine these initiatives, but this break has taken too long, according to Vitaly Ignatyev. «All these proposals have been studied for over two months already, and in our opinion the situation looks very negative," noted the acting foreign minister.
The Moldovan political representative asked in an interview with journalists not to dramatise the situation. «No need to link this visit with some concrete, final decisions. The conflict has remained unsettled for more than 20 years. You should not expect everything to change overnight," noted Gheorghe Balan.
«We have to move forward and search for solutions to even small but concrete problems. Kishinev is open in this respect and will continue to show its good will," added the Moldovan negotiator.
However, according to Vitaly Ignatyev, Moldova's readiness for a dialogue is only manifest in statements about the readiness. «Unfortunately, besides the statement that they are open to a dialogue and intend to work, the Moldovan side has not actually confirmed their readiness to hold expert meetings on pressing issues," said the Pridnestrovian minister.
