Tiraspol, January 13. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. A meeting in the 5 + 2 format (Pridnestrovie and Moldova are parties; Russia, Ukraine, OSCE are mediators; US and EU are observers) is to be initiated in the near future. There are all the necessary prerequisites for this. This opinion was expressed by the PMR Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev on the air of the First Pridnestrovian TV Channel. “We are ready for a meeting at the level of political representatives, expert (working) groups. We are waiting for a response from Chisinau. This must be done. There are all the prerequisites for this: packed agenda and new problems that have arisen at the end of the year. Up till now, PMR individual economic agents cargoes are detained in Moldova. In our opinion, it is absolutely illegitimate. Moldovan experts are in no hurry to resolve this issue at the group level,” the Head of the Foreign Ministry said. At the same time, Vitaly Ignatiev believes that the internal political processes in Moldova may negatively affect the dynamics of the negotiation process.
“After the presidential elections, the main topic now is early parliamentary elections in Moldova. You can carefully assume that special dynamics should not be expected in the first half of the year,” the Minister said.
At the same time, a certain intensification of the negotiation process is associated with the Swedish chairmanship in the OSCE in the PMR Foreign Ministry. This will be largely facilitated by the reappointment of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Thomas Mayr-Harting, who is particularly familiar with the Pridnestrovian subject matter, as Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.
“Mr. Mayr-Harting is deeply involved in all the issues. We see a positive attitude on the part of the Swedish presidency. There are plans for our colleagues` nearest visits to the territory of Pridnestrovie,” Vitaly Ignatiev said. Speaking about the situation in the negotiation process last year, the Foreign Minister stated that it was characterized by degradation in all directions. A meeting in the 5 + 2 format did not take place, although there were all the prerequisites for this. The dynamics of meetings of the expert (working) groups almost leveled out, there were minimal contacts at the level of political representatives, Vitaly Ignatiev noted. “The work was carried out by shuttle diplomacy or diplomatic correspondence. It had not been a good year for the negotiation process. We need to learn lessons and all together, within the framework of the negotiation process, try to use the mandate that political representatives and international participants in the negotiation process have in order to finally move on to solving the accumulated problems from the Berlin + package to improve people's lives,” the Head of diplomatic service summarized.
