Tiraspol, 29 March. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The foreign ministry held the first meeting in 2018 of the Public and Expert Council. It was attended by foreign minister Vitaly Ignatiev and his deputy Alexander Stetsyuk. Among the participants were also representatives of state authorities, the Supreme Council, the Public Chamber, the expert community, the major media and the national communities.
Vitaly Ignatyev gave a detailed account of the current situation in the negotiation process with Moldova, emphasising the need to work out a mechanism ensuring the implementation of all the agreements.
"We consider the development of a mechanism of guarantees as a priority for the future. We are talking about this with both our Russian colleagues and all participants in the '5 +2' format. If such a mechanism existed at the international level, the dynamics of the talks would grow, there would be fewer elements of mistrust, as well as no need to constantly monitor the implementation of certain agreements," said the diplomat.
Particularly, the minister touched upon the results of visits to Pridnestrovie by Russia's deputy prime minister Grigory Karasin and special representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Franco Frattini. They had a serious discussion of the Russia-led peacekeeping operation.
"The Russian side traditionally conducts an intensive dialogue, and in this connection during the past meetings with Grigory Karasin the broad context of the negotiation process was discussed; special attention was paid to specific aspects of bilateral relations. The Russia-led peacekeeping operation was seriously discussed: unfortunately, at the moment, there remain tensions around this important mechanism, which provides the conditions for a political dialogue," said Ignatyev.
Commenting on Franco Frattini's visit to Pridnestrovie, Vitaly Ignatyev appreciated the Italian chairmanship's intention to hold a "Permanent Conference..." meeting in the "5 + 2" format in the near future. At the same time, the diplomat noted the presence of certain "alarming moments" in the dependence of the holding international meetings indicated by Franco Frattini on the progress in solving a motor transport problem. According to Vitaly Ignatyev, the "Permanent Conference..." is the working mechanism of the negotiation process and its potential cannot be limited by anything.
The minister also stressed that Pridnestrovie appreciated the position of the Italian OSCE chairmanship on the stabilising role of the peacekeeping operation in the region. "We expressed our gratitude to Mr Frattini and the OSCE Mission to Moldova for the support provided to our peacekeepers in terms of supplying special equipment kits - GPS navigators and other equipment that will help the military to monitor the Security Zone and perform all the necessary functions to preserve peace. We note as a positive aspect that the OSCE chairmanship is fully aware of the role of the peacekeeping operation," said the diplomat.
