Today the meeting between the President of the PMR Yevgeny Shevchuk and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara was held in Tiraspol. The OSCE delegation was represented by the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for conflicts, Ambassador-at-Large Andrey Deshchitsa, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in the Republic of Moldova Sergey Pirozhkov, the Head of OSCE Mission to Moldova Jennifer Brush, and representatives of the Ukrainian MFA. Pridnestrovian delegation was represented by the Chairman of the Government of the PMR Petr Stepanov, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the PMR Mikhail Burla, and Deputy Chairperson of the Government of the PMR on Issues of International Cooperation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Nina Shtanski.
During the meeting parties discussed issues on enhancement of the dialogue between Moldova and Pridnestrovie in view of Ukraine's OSCE Chairmanship and highlighted the particular aspects of cooperation between Pridnestrovie and Moldova in the socio-economic sphere which forms the basis for the negotiations in the “5 +2” format.
Parties mentioned constructive character of the discussion. According to Yevgeny Shevchenko, the meeting was focused on the prospects of cooperation in the direction of enhancing the compromise instruments within the “5+2” negotiation format. The President expressed the belief that “2013 would bring effective and efficient work within the current negotiation format.”
Moreover, the sticking point in the negotiations is socio-economic agenda. This fact is admitted in Pridnestrovie and Ukraine. “Social and economic living conditions form an important aspect of the settlement. Many ethnic Ukrainians live here. We should care about these issues,” Leonid Kozhara stressed. Speaking to reporters, the diplomat said that during the meeting parties reaffirmed the need to continue dialogue between them. “The negotiations in the “5+2” format should not be ceased. It should be permanently developed,” Leonid Kozhara said. In his opinion the most effective should be personal direct contact between the leaders of Pridnestrovie and Moldova. According to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, he will bring to Kiev “positive impressions after the meeting.”
The next meeting of Yevgeny Shevchuk and Leonid Kozhara will be held in late February in Lvov hosting at the same time the next round of the “5+2” negotiations. The participation in the meeting of the Moldovan Prime Minister Vladimir Filat is also expected.
Answering journalists' questions, Yevgeny Shevchuk, the President of the PMR said that the dialogue between the conflicting parties should be strengthened in 2013 in order to compromise on a number of important issues related to improving the living conditions of Pridnestrovians. The President noted that we need counter efforts of the Republic of Moldova to effectively address current issues. Yevgeny Shevchuk expressed hope that Ukraine during its OSCE Chairmanship could assist in building constructive cooperation between Pridnestrovie and Moldova for the benefit of population of both countries.
