Tiraspol, 25 May. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. As Novosti Pridnestrovya has already reported, the PMR's foreign ministry has hosted today a meeting between Vitaly Ignatyev and the special representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Wolf Dietrich Heim.
The Pridnestrovian minister informed the Western diplomat about the country's new challenges, among which he especially noted the issue of food imports to Pridnestrovie through Ukraine. According to the Pridnestrovian side, only international support could help to solve this and other problems in Pridnestrovie's relations with neighbouring countries. Therefore, Vitaly Ignatyev reiterated the need to call a «Permanent conference…» meeting in the near future.
The Moldovan side had also expressed its readiness to resume «5+2» meetings. In an interview with journalists after the meeting with the Pridnestrovian diplomat, however, Wolf Dietrich Heim referred to the lack of political will of the parties to hold negotiations in this format, despite the fact that Pridnestrovie had repeatedly proposed to call a «Permanent conference…» meeting.
«Yes, we hear the parties make statements about their readiness to meet in the '5+2' format, but we shouldn't forget that there has been only one such meeting in the past four years (on 2−3 July 2016 in Berlin, ed.)," said the diplomat. «There's a world of difference between making statements and working to achieve some results and compromise.» The Austrian diplomat noted, in the meantime, if «the sides showed political will», a «5+2» format meeting could be organised in a few weeks.
