Transnistrian settlement negotiations will be resumed soon, Moldovan president says

The Transnistrian settlement negotiations in the 5+2 format will be soon resumed after a two-year break. The mediators - Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE - and the observers - the EU and the USA - are to tackle a package of documents worked out and submitted to the sides and which is expected to ensure the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict.

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin made a statement to this effect in a programme broadcast by the NIT TV channel.

The head of state said that the negotiations, which will be longer than usually, might be held in Helsinki or Sankt-Petersburg and the date will be set soon. At the same time, the president specified that the package of documents proposed to the negotiators were worked out in line with the law on the basic principles of the status of Moldova's Transnistrian region passed in 2005.

Referring to press speculation that Moldova might make some concessions just to have the conflict settled, the head of state said there is no way there can be any bargain. No one speaks about surrendering anything. The leadership of the Russian Federation has given strong guarantees that once the documents are signed, the Russian military presence, including peacekeeping forces will be withdrawn from Moldova, Voronin said.

In case the negotiations end up with the approval of the package of documents, they will be passed to the heads of state and heads of the institutions participating in the 5+2 negotiations. The final decision will be taken after they are coordinated with the parliament and government. It is also after that that the mechanism of signing the documents will be established.

Voronin said that during his latest visits to Moscow, including the one paid on the occasion of the informal CIS summit, the issue was the centrepiece of the meetings with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who backed the proposal to resume the negotiations. The head of state said that the same day he had talks on the issue with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

The 5+2 negotiations on the Transnistrian conflict settlement were halted in March 2006. Since then, most sides involved, except for Transnistria, have reiterated the need to renew talks. Lately, the leader of the Transnistrian region, for the first time after 2006, made a public statement about the possibility of resuming the Chisinau-Tiraspol political dialogue.