ID :
13432
Wed, 07/23/2008 - 10:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/13432
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OSCE special envoy to discuss in Moldova Dniester settlement
CHISINAU, July 23 (Itar-Tass) - Special Envoy of the Chairman-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE), Ambassador Heikki Talvitie, together with representatives of countries guarantors and observers in "the three plus two format" (OSCE mediators, Russia and Ukraine, as well as US and EU observers) on Tuesday will begin meetings with the leadership of Moldova and the breakaway Dniester (Trans-Dniester) region with a view to intensifying the Dniester settlement talks.
According to an OSCE press release, Ambassador Heikki Talvitie is in Moldova today to hold talks with President Vladimir Voronin. A meeting with Trans-Dniester leader Igor Smirnov has been requested.
The other two co-mediators - the Russian Federation and Ukraine - in the settlement process will participate in the talks along with theEuropean Union and the United States, both of which have observer status, it said.
"We plan to put at the disposal of the sides the full potential of the 3+2 format," Talvitie told journalists in Chisinau. "My counterparts and I, as well as the OSCE Mission to Moldova, will help and support confidence- and trust-building initiatives. This remains the only sustainable solution towards building genuine and productive dialogue," according to Talvitie.
The 21-23 July visit of the permanent representatives of the 3+2 format is set to include visits to both Chisinau and Tiraspol. It aims toenhance confidence and trust between the sides, the press release says.
"We will reiterate our support for matters that benefit and interest both sides. The Finnish Chairmanship will continue to work for a Trans-Dniester settlement," Talvitie said, according to the OSCE pressrelease.
The talks on the Dniester settlement in the "five plus two format" (Moldova, the Dniester region, Russia, Ukraine and OSCE, as well as observers from the United States and European Union) had been disrupted inlate February 2006. It took almost two years to resume the negotiations.
On March 17, at a meeting with Dniester leader Igor Smirnov Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for restoring the full-fledged format of the talks between Chisinau and Tiraspol and giving up political pressure to work out external international guarantees for the Dniester region's unimpeded foreign economic activity. Smirnov said the republic "is ready to restore direct contacts with the Moldovan president." On April 11, Voronin and Smirnov held their first meeting after a seven-year-long interval. They agreed to resume regular contacts in order to resume the negotiating process. But it is not easy for the sides to bring their positions closer after such a long period of time. In May, Voronin and Smirnov voiced concern over the absence of the expectedbreakthrough at the talks.
The separatist region of Trans-Dniester - a narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Ukrainian border - proclaimed independence from Moldova in 1990. In a September 2006 referendum, unrecognised by Moldova and the international community, the region reasserted its demand for independence and also backed a plan eventuallyto join Russia.
The Dniester region contains most of Moldova's industrial infrastructure, but its economic potential is limited by its international isolation. It has its own currency, constitution, parliament, flag andanthem.
According to an OSCE press release, Ambassador Heikki Talvitie is in Moldova today to hold talks with President Vladimir Voronin. A meeting with Trans-Dniester leader Igor Smirnov has been requested.
The other two co-mediators - the Russian Federation and Ukraine - in the settlement process will participate in the talks along with theEuropean Union and the United States, both of which have observer status, it said.
"We plan to put at the disposal of the sides the full potential of the 3+2 format," Talvitie told journalists in Chisinau. "My counterparts and I, as well as the OSCE Mission to Moldova, will help and support confidence- and trust-building initiatives. This remains the only sustainable solution towards building genuine and productive dialogue," according to Talvitie.
The 21-23 July visit of the permanent representatives of the 3+2 format is set to include visits to both Chisinau and Tiraspol. It aims toenhance confidence and trust between the sides, the press release says.
"We will reiterate our support for matters that benefit and interest both sides. The Finnish Chairmanship will continue to work for a Trans-Dniester settlement," Talvitie said, according to the OSCE pressrelease.
The talks on the Dniester settlement in the "five plus two format" (Moldova, the Dniester region, Russia, Ukraine and OSCE, as well as observers from the United States and European Union) had been disrupted inlate February 2006. It took almost two years to resume the negotiations.
On March 17, at a meeting with Dniester leader Igor Smirnov Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for restoring the full-fledged format of the talks between Chisinau and Tiraspol and giving up political pressure to work out external international guarantees for the Dniester region's unimpeded foreign economic activity. Smirnov said the republic "is ready to restore direct contacts with the Moldovan president." On April 11, Voronin and Smirnov held their first meeting after a seven-year-long interval. They agreed to resume regular contacts in order to resume the negotiating process. But it is not easy for the sides to bring their positions closer after such a long period of time. In May, Voronin and Smirnov voiced concern over the absence of the expectedbreakthrough at the talks.
The separatist region of Trans-Dniester - a narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Ukrainian border - proclaimed independence from Moldova in 1990. In a September 2006 referendum, unrecognised by Moldova and the international community, the region reasserted its demand for independence and also backed a plan eventuallyto join Russia.
The Dniester region contains most of Moldova's industrial infrastructure, but its economic potential is limited by its international isolation. It has its own currency, constitution, parliament, flag andanthem.
