Tiraspol, January 11. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The main thing that will need to be done in 2023 by all participants in the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian negotiations and the new OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office represented by North Macedonia is to address the negotiation crisis which it has been in for many years. This opinion was expressed in an interview with the First Pridnestrovian TV channel by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vitaly Ignatiev.
According to him, usually, each country that takes over the chairmanship of the OSCE says that it is willing to give impetus to the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian settlement.
“But in reality, the situation is different from the declarations. Judging by what we have seen in recent years, the Moldovan side is sabotaging the negotiations, putting pressure on Pridnestrovie in several areas, while the international community considers this situation quite loyally, which, in my opinion, is unacceptable. Therefore, any plans will be tested on specific examples. The situation in the negotiations today is very difficult,” the Minister said.
He recalled that Pridnestrovie called on both the OSCE and other participants in the negotiation process to intensify their participation in the dialogue.
“We call for holding a meeting in the 5 + 2 format in an official or informal mode, without preconditions, reservations, and so on. We have some really serious tools to use to get momentum. If these tools do not work, then there is no reason to wait for a miracle from the current chairmanship. Surely, here we hope for a new impetus and new interaction with the current chairmanship represented by North Macedonia,” Vitaly Ignatiev said.
He added that the expert (working) groups of Pridnestrovie and Moldova will continue to meet this year as needed. “There is no point in meetings for the sake of meetings, only to create the appearance of some kind of dialogue. Very often experts from Moldova do not have powers or they have political attitudes not to take certain decisions. Or the problem is that the expert groups` decisions are blocked at the level of the political leadership of Moldova. When Moldovan health experts developed a model for importing medicines to Pridnestrovie, while the Moldovan Government refused to implement it, is a textbook example,” the Head of the PMR Foreign Ministry recalled.
It should be noted that North Macedonia assumed the chairmanship of the OSCE on January 1, 2023. North Macedonia is a small state on the Balkan Peninsula (population is just over 2 million people), bordering Kosovo, Serbia, Albania, Greece, and Bulgaria.
