Tiraspol, 29 September. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR hosted a meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vitaly Ignatyev and Head of the Council of Europe Office in Moldova Jose Luis Herrero.
The aim of the CE delegation is to study the approaches and mechanisms for ensuring equal access to learning languages and the educational system of Pridnestrovie as a whole.
As the MFA's press service reports, the Pridnestrovian side provided extensive information on the current regulatory framework in this field, relating in particular to the study of official and foreign languages in Pridnestrovie's secondary schools. It was noted during the meeting that the right of school students to study in their mother tongue and chose a foreign language to learn is fully guaranteed.
Vitaly Ignatyev appreciated the interest of the Council of Europe to Pridnestrovie and their desire to study the situation in the sphere of education.
«As you know, education is one of the sensitive issues in our negotiations with Moldova. In our view, this issue is deliberately politicised by the Moldovan side and used as a factor of pressure on Pridnestrovie. This is why we are very much interested in having a transparent discussion of this question," said the minister.
He drew attention to the situation in the field of the legalisation of Pridnestrovie-issued higher education certificates in Moldova for further employment and study abroad. Vitaly Ignatyev noted that the settlement of this problem, a commitment made by the sides within the framework of the «Berlin protocol», is hampered by the unwillingness of Moldovan representatives.
According to the foreign minister, the politicisation of education issues has nothing to do with the desire to ensure the rights of Pridnestrovian students, but rather testifies to Moldova's unwillingness to carry on a substantive and civilised dialogue.
