5+2 meeting focuses on resumption of official negotiations on the Transdniestrian settlement

VIENNA, 5 April 2011 – Resumption of the official negotiations in the Transdniestrian settlement process was the focus of a 4-5 April informal meeting  of the participants in the 5+2 Transdniestrian settlement process chaired by the Special Representative of the Lithuanian Chairperson-in-Office of OSCE for protracted conflicts, Ambassador Giedrius Čekuolis.

The meeting also dealt with issues of freedom of movement between the two banks of the Nistru / Dniestr river, guarantees in the negotiating process and a draft statute for the activities of the working groups on confidence building measures.

Participants in the 5+2 format moved closer to a decision on the necessity of resuming of the functioning of the "Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Framework of the  Negotiating Process for Transdniestrian Settlement" with the assistance of the  international community, the ultimate goal of which is a peaceful, just, and comprehensive settlement of the conflict in all its aspects.

Participants in the 5+2 format also exchanged views on the modalities and forms of the negotiations as set out, inter alia, in the document "On the Organization of the Negotiating Process for the Transdniestrian Settlement" of 20 February 2002.

The 5+2 format comprises the sides, mediators and observers in the negotiation process: the Republic of Moldova, Transdniestria, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the OSCE, the United States and the European Union.