OSCE Special Representative for Transdniestrian settlement process calls for resumption of 5+2 talks during meeting in Chisinau

CHISINAU, 30 June 2015 – The Special Representative of the Serbian OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian settlement process, Ambassador Radojko Bogojević, today completed the first of two visits to the region in one week, following on from recent meetings in Kyiv and Moscow. During his visit, Ambassador Bogojević met with Victor Osipov, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration and Moldovan Chief Negotiator.

“Regular and constructive dialogue and contact between the sides are essential to moving forward with the settlement process,” Bogojević said. “I am greatly encouraged by the clear message I received in Kyiv and Moscow, namely, that it is vital that the sides begin preparations for the next round of 5+2 talks at the earliest opportunity.”

Bogojević will return to the region on 7 July to meet with Transdniestrian Chief Negotiator Nina Shtanski, who was unable to meet with the Ambassador during this visit due to previously-agreed engagements. These visits form part of a series of meetings by the OSCE Chairmanship and Mission to Moldova with 5+2 partners, including in Kyiv, Moscow, Brussels and Washington, to discuss ways to boost the process.

“My commitment to achieving a comprehensive, just and long-term solution to the conflict is resolute. Maintaining a constructive dialogue will help to strengthen confidence between people on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River,” he said.

Bogojević has used every opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of Serbia’s OSCE Chairmanship to the 5+2 settlement process, stressing that the Transdniestrian settlement remains one of its priorities, and to urge the sides to make preparations for the next round of 5+2 talks.

The 5+2 format includes representatives of the sides, mediators and observers in the negotiations – Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the US and the EU.