The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR hosted a meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Vitaly Ignatiev and an OSCE delegation led by the Permanent Representatives of Switzerland and Germany, Raphael Nägeli and Susanne Schütz. The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Kelly Keiderling, also took part in the discussions.
During the meeting, the current situation in the relations between Pridnestrovie and the Republic of Moldova was discussed in detail, along with the prospects for proactive OSCE mediation aimed at practical solutions and conflict prevention, including during Switzerland’s chairmanship of the OSCE next year.
Referring to the experience of 2016, when, thanks to the mediating efforts of the German OSCE Chairmanship, the Berlin Protocol was signed after a long pause in dialogue, Vitaly Ignatiev emphasized the importance of utilizing the organization’s instruments to resume negotiations. He drew attention to the goals of the Pridnestrovian side, which include the complete elimination of the root causes of the conflict, as well as the development of reliable guarantees for the protection of the freedoms, interests, and identity of the people of Pridnestrovie.
The PMR Foreign Minister emphasized that the past 30 years of the negotiation process – marked by the Moldovan leadership’s repeated refusals to fulfill previously reached agreements, the implementation of various forms of blockades and pressure on Pridnestrovie, and even Moldova’s withdrawal from negotiations –have yielded no tangible results. In this context, he called on the OSCE to give new impetus to a rational path forward and the restoration of dialogue, including through the organization of concrete activities.
At the guests’ request, the Minister commented on potential areas where priority practical steps could be taken, including the freedom of movement for vehicles and officials, the removal of obstacles in the fields of economy, banking, and telecommunications, as well as other humanitarian issues directly related to the protection of human rights.
