BRATISLAVA ROUND OF 5+2 TALKS ON TRANSNISTRIA ENDS WITHOUT FINAL DOCUMENT SIGNATURE

A new ordinary round of 5+2 format negotiations on Transnistrian conflict settlement was completed in Bratislava on Thursday without signing a final Protocol, Ambassador Claus Neukirch, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, announced at a news conference held in the capital of Slovakia today. The news conference was live transmitted by video communication at the OSCE Mission's Chisinau Office.

"We held complicated but result-oriented negotiations. We discussed the realization of the Berlin Protocol of 2017 and the Rome Protocol of 2018 as well as of the Berlin+ Package. We also discussed further actions to consolidate trust measures", said the OSCE official.

The diplomat stressed that the parties held very constructive negotiations on various questions, including infrastructure development projects, and "Both sides [Chisinau and Tiraspol] demonstrated a constructive approach and readiness to continue the discussion to eventually arrive at solutions for the good of the people residing on both Dniester River sides".

In his words, the negotiations were hard but constructive.

"We worked two days in Bratislava, but there was no time enough for agreeing upon a protocol decision. In the nearest days or weeks we will continue working over the final document of the Bratislava meeting. I hope we will agree upon the Protocol text so as to impart an impulse to the talks and achieve progress", said the OSCE Mission Head.

Answering journalists' questions, Claus Neukirch refused to disclose the details of the Protocol being discussed. He said: "Our main principle is that we cannot speak about details before the Protocol has been agreed on and signed by the Sides. We are working over a final version of the document that will be made public after its signature".

Claus Neukirch said that no other documents had been signed, either.

"We will continue working in subsequent weeks and months to work out compromise solutions of the questions, which we failed to discuss in Bratislava for lack of time", said the OSCE Mission Head.

Claus Neukirch failed to answer when the next round of talks will take place.

"We did not discuss this question here, either. It will be agreed upon later between the negotiation participants either this year, under the Slovakian OSCE Presidency, or next year under the presidency of Albania", said Claus Neukirch.