The Foreign Ministry of Pridnestrovie hosted a meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vitaly Ignatiev and the OSCE delegation headed by Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Cord Hinrich Meier-Klodt. The meeting was also attended by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova Michael Scanlan.
Let us recall that during the previous visit of the German diplomat on 27 September the Pridnestrovian side again forwarded an initiative to hold the next meeting of the “Permanent Conference...” in the 5+2 format in the near future. At the meeting in the Foreign Ministry of the PMR the OSCE Chairmanship was also provided with a draft agreement on freight railway traffic developed by Pridnestrovian experts.
Welcoming the guests, Vitaly Ignatiev expressed hope that the discussion would allow to discuss the proposals announced by the Pridnestrovian side at the previous meeting, noting that Pridnestrovie is aimed at achieving constructive solutions at the negotiating table.
“Certainly, we also believe it is necessary to intensify the work on the implementation of the Berlin Protocol”, – the diplomat noted. In this context the PMR’s Foreign Minister drew attention to the high demand and the effectiveness of the “Permanent Conference...”. “It seems that this is the area that can give an impetus to the dialogue” – he emphasized.
In his turn, Cord Meier-Klodt agreed on the need to exert all efforts to promote the dialogue, and noted that the OSCE Chairmanship has enhanced cooperation with mediators and observers. However, no substantive proposals in regards to Pridnestrovian initiatives have been voiced by the current OSCE Chairmanship within the framework of today’s conversations. Answering journalists’ questions after the event, Cord Meier-Klodt pointed out that reaching agreements on the issues reflected in the Berlin Protocol, as well as the railway issue depends entirely on the parties to the negotiations. According to him, date of a possible meeting of the “Permanent Conference...” is not defined so far.
“I want to say responsibly that we have not managed to reach all of those and in a specific time frame as we have fixed. But I can assure you that I will do my best, and the most that I can, in order to continue consultations and to achieve maximum results in the remaining period. This is the “last quarter” of the German OSCE Chairmanship, and I can transfer these achievements to my successor – Representative of the Chairman-in-Office from Austria” – the German diplomat declared.
Commenting on the results of the meeting, Vitaly Ignatiev emphasized that the time passed since the signing of the Berlin Protocol demonstrated degraded positive movement in negotiations. “Tempo of meetings at all levels has fallen significantly, and, unfortunately, there was a whole set of other problems. The railroad problems have stepped up, the issues that we have included in the Berlin Protocol have not found their solutions. Recently, we have had additional difficulties associated with freedom of movement” – the diplomat stated talking to the mass media.
“In these circumstances, as it appears, all parties require political momentum to fulfill their obligations. Residents of Pridnestrovie would like to have better living conditions and our direct duty is to make every possible effort to ensure that” – said the Foreign Minister of the PMR, noting that the “Permanent Conference...” meeting would help to intensify work to resolve the serious problems in the relations of Pridnestrovie and Moldova.
“I think that the potential of the German Chairmanship is far from exhausted. Despite the fact that little time has left I have suggested and keep suggesting to my colleague to use it as efficiently as possible within the framework of the negotiation process” – concluded Vitaly Ignatiev.
