​OSCE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE CALLS ON CHISINAU AND TIRASPOL TO ABIDE BY BERLIN PROTOCOL

The Special Representative of the German OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian Settlement Process, Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodt, has called on Chisinau and Tiraspol to follow up on their commitments made in the Berlin Protocol, signed at the 5+2 talks in June 2016, and to maintain the Berlin momentum made by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

On Wednesday evening, Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodt concluded his 2-day working visit to meet with Political Representatives in Chisinau and Tiraspol.

Unlike his previous comings here, this time the diplomat did not held a final press briefing or a news conference. His words were made public in the press release of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.

The Special Representative said in particular that the 5+2 meeting held in Germany last June “established a new approach in the dialog between Chisinau and Tiraspol centered on achieving specific and attainable goals in a defined timeframe. However, in addition to their active engagement at the 1+1 and working group levels, this new approach requires the sides to invest the necessary political will and resources to help bring these agreements to fruition.”

In this vein, the diplomat welcomed Moldova’s public commitment to develop a policy concept on a special status for Transnistria at the beginning of 2017, and to simultaneously strengthen its institutional capacities to engage in the settlement process.

“Such publicly voiced commitments are encouraging but must be put into practice,” the Special Representative noted. “We call on both sides to move forward with implementing their commitments within the internationally endorsed parameters of the conflict settlement, and not to lose sight of the opportunity created in Berlin for a results-oriented dialog.”

The visit included a meeting of resident Ambassadors of the Mediators and Observers in the 5+2 talks, hosted by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Michael Scanlan, who welcomed the international partners’ continued unified approach and support for the sides in moving the process forward.

As already reported by Infotag, at the beginning of the year Cord Meier-Klodt managed to persuade Chisinau and Tiraspol representatives into resuming the negotiating process. The 5+2 format parties met in Berlin in early June and signed a Protocol consisting of 7 items. They pertained in particular to the achievement of accords on recognition of education diplomas issued in Transnistria, the using of Transnistria-issued license plates for motor vehicles, the problems of telecommunications, environment protection, litigations against officials.

The parties were projecting to fulfill the document within subsequent 6 weeks – by the informal conference on confidence-building measures that was scheduled for mid-July in Germany, at which they were going to set a date for resuming full-scale negotiations in the 5+2 format. However, the Berlin Protocol failed to be fulfilled and the negotiations were not resumed.