​EU DELEGATION HEAD SPEAKS OF FURTHER COMPROMISES

Ambassador Peter Michalko, the Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, believes that after the success, achieved last few years in the Transnistrian conflict settlement process, the Sides should concentrate on working out compromises on next key questions on the negotiation agenda.

On Friday, the European diplomat took part in the annual conference, being held in Chisinau within the “Transnistrian Dialogs” Program, and said that the conflict settlement plays an essential role in the development of the situation in Moldova upon the whole.

In his words, the European Union is continuing to abide by its stance on a peaceful and accord-coordinated settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, on preserving the territorially integral Republic of Moldova, and on equipping the Transnistrian region with a special legal status with guaranteeing the social and economic rights for the entire population.

Speaking of the conflict settlement achievements, Peter Michalko remarked that what used to be considered only as perspectives yet quite recently has been implemented into real results last few years – neutral-design license plates, the re-opening of the Gura Bicului/Bicioc Bridge, settlement of the land dispute in the Dubasari Raion, and other.

In his words, to continue the 5+2 negotiation process, the Sides and other parties concerned need to rely on a solid basis. Assistance to this job is provided by the Program in support of trust-building measures, which is to provide 10.5 million euros within next 3 years to be used for socio-economic development and for culture and health projects.

Birmingham University Professor Stephan Wolf, an international security expert, said that the conflict settlement process should be a dialog not just between political elites but also between the civil society representatives.

In his words, the conflict settlement should become a subject of broad discussions, and its essence should be clear to broad population circles. The people should understand that the conflict cannot be resolved accidentally, and that this requires consistent efforts. All the problems worrying the Sides have to be discussed at the negotiating table. Of course, one can say that the settlement process takes somewhat long, but the Transnistrian conflict should in no way be attributed to the category of insoluble problems.