Sufficient internal and external prerequisites moved Pridnestrovie to assent to the resumption of the 5+2 format official work. This statement was made today by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vladimir Yastrebchak at the briefing for journalists of Pridnestrovien mass media and those accredited in the Republic. In the course of his dialogue with the press, the Head of the MFA conveyed details of the informal meeting in the 5+2 format which took place on September 22, in Moscow, with the participation of representatives from Pridnestrovie, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, the EU, and the USA.
He recalled that the work of the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Framework of Pridnestrovien Settlement Negotiation Process (the 5+2 format) was suspended in a unilateral way by the Moldovan side on February 28, 2006. “Owing to the efforts of the mediators, guarantors and to some extent of observers, informal consultations in the 5+2 format have been held since 2008, at which attempts to unblock the situation were made. As a result, this led to the fact that on September 22, in Moscow, a decision to resume official work of the Permanent Conference was made,” Vladimir Yastrebchak told.
External prerequisites which preconditioned Tiraspol's decision on the resumption of official consultations include, according to Vladimir Yastrebchak, high activity of foreign partners of Pridnestrovie – first of all, representatives of Russia and Ukraine as guarantor countries. “The meeting of Head of PMR's Cabinet of Ministers Igor Smirnov with Moldova's Prime-Minister Vlad Filat which took place in the framework of international conference in German town Bad Reichenhall was an important event. They held a meaningful talk on the whole range of bilateral relations, including in socio-economic sphere, and approved General Regulations of expert (working) groups of Moldova and Pridnestrovie,” said Vladimir Yastrebchak.
Speaking about internal prerequisites, he reminded that this July President of the PMR introduced draft Law on Goals and Principles of Conducting the Negotiation Process with the Republic of Moldova. Currently, it is considered in working bodies of the Parliament. “We proceed from expediency of adopting this law, as far as it will foster shaping necessary legal prerequisites in order to enable a more grounded conduction of negotiation process from the point of view of our legislation,” the Head of the PMR's MFA told. “It regulates matters of negotiations in a broader context, and the 5+2 format correlates with the negotiation process as a part and a whole,” Vladimir Yastrebchak specified.
As it was emphasized by the Head of PMR's MFA, it is premature to speak about a full-fledged resumption of the negotiation process between Moldova and Pridnestrovie at this point. “One cannot substitute negotiation process in general by the 5+2 format since it is carried out at different levels, inter alia, at the level of the heads of the states. Though the mechanism which has been launched now is important, it is only one of the mechanisms of the negotiation process,” noted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR.
Responding to journalists' questions, he told that Tiraspol expects certain progress from the work of the 5+2 format, first of all, in the solution of socio-economic issues. “We pin these hopes on the signed Regulations of expert (working) groups and with those intentions which in particular were voiced in Germany,” Vladimir Yastrebchak told.
The date and venue of the forthcoming round of official consultations have not been defined so far. Speaking about the possible agenda, the Head of PMR's MFA told that in view of the Pridnestrovien side its main issues should become principles and procedure of further work of the Permanent Conference. Besides, one of the primary issues which Pridnestrovie intends to raise is the question on guarantees of fulfillment of agreements reached. As the Minister told, Tiraspol invited representatives of guarantor countries, mediators and observers to pay a working visit to Pridnestrovie in order to discuss preparation for official consultations in more detail.
In the course of the briefing, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR responded to a number of other questions of media representatives.
