Another attempt by the office of the political representative of the Republic of Moldova to mislead the public regarding the planned meetings of the Expert (Working) Groups has been noted.
We emphasize – there are no Expert (Working) Groups or subgroups on statistical issues. Accordingly, the activities of a non-existent body could not, in principle, have been the subject of discussion at the meeting of political representatives on April 8.
In fact, as early as April 3 of this year, Pridnestrovie sent an official proposal to all 5+2 participants to hold a meeting of the Expert (Working) Groups on economic issues on April 9. The meeting was intended to address key problems, as well as statistical aspects of interest to Chisinau. This initiative was discussed during the Bendery meeting of political representatives. The Moldovan participants agreed that a meeting of the Expert (Working) Groups on economic issues – which would also include discussion of statistical matters – should take place in the near future. However, the Republic of Moldova eventually declined to participate in the meeting.
It appears that the Moldovan side’s adequacy was only sufficient for formal participation in the meeting in Bendery. However, it lacked the political will to fulfill its own commitments made in the presence of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and other international participants. This concerns not only the upcoming meetings of the Working Groups, but also the decisions needed to unblock the VRO activities.
The insinuations, easily refuted by facts and documents, suggest that the Moldovan side is not interested in proper interaction, be it dealing with economic or statistical issues, but is instead seeking only a fabricated pretext for accusations aimed at sabotaging the dialogue.
