​ADVISER ALFREDO CONTE BELIEVES CHISINAU AND TIRASPOL CAN WELL SIGN NEW AGREEMENTS

Chisinau and Tiraspol can sign new agreements on resolving topical problems in various fields, Alfredo Conte, Adviser to the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian settlement process, stated in the OSCE Mission to Moldova upon completion of his 3-day visit to the Republic of Moldova.

“Agreements followed by implementation may be the new norm of the Transnistrian Settlement Process. “We see the implementation of agreements recently signed by the Sides and we are on the verge of the conclusion of new agreements. Based on my meetings in Chisinau and Tiraspol, I am confident that this can be the new norm of the settlement process, which will generate benefits for people on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River,” said Conte.

The Italian diplomat said that his meetings in Chisinau and Tiraspol set the stage for an upcoming visit to Moldova by the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian Settlement Process, Franco Frattini, being projected for the first half of March.

“In this context, I underscored the need to reach an agreement by the end of February on a mechanism to allow vehicles from Transnistria to participate in international road traffic as committed to by the Sides in the Vienna Protocol”, said Alfredo Conte.

On Thursday, he concluded his three-day visit to Moldova. He met with the leadership in Chisinau and Tiraspol, the authorities in the Autonomous Territorial Unit (ATU) of Gagauzia and the resident Ambassadors of the 5+2 Mediators and Observers, the OSCE Mission to Moldova reported.

In Chisinau, Alfredo Conte met with Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration and Chief Negotiator, Cristina Lesnic, and State Secretary of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Tatiana Molcean. In Tiraspol, he met with Transnistrian Chief Negotiator Vitaly Ignatiev.

On the last day of the visit Conte met with Governor of ATU Gagauzia Irina Vlah and Deputy Chairperson of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia Alexandr Tarnavschi in Comrat.

“Affirming fully the autonomy of Gagauzia within Moldova, established in 1994, will serve to strengthen the state, as this is about good governance and the rule of law,” concluded Conte.

The OSCE Mission press release said that the Transnistrian Settlement Process is high on the Italian OSCE Chairmanship’s agenda for 2018, under their motto “Dialogue, Ownership, Responsibility”.