OSCE CiO CALLS CHISINAU AND TIRASPOL TO COME TO COMPROMISE ON BRATISLAVA PROTOCOL

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakia’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajcak has urged “the entire 5+2 negotiating format”, and particularly Moldova and Transnistria to do all in their powers to achieve a compromise on the Protocol drawn up on October 10 on the results of the Bratislava meeting.

Miroslav Lajcak stressed that the document must be mutually acceptable, pragmatic and permitting the Sides to work for the good of the residents of both Dniester River banks, “and the Slovakian OSCE Presidency stands ready to render all possible assistance to this process”.

As was already reported by Infotag, the 2-day Bratislava negotiations on Transnistrian conflict settlement in the format of 5+2 [Moldova and Transnistria as the conflict sides, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as international mediators (5); and the European Union and the United States as international observers (2)] ended on Thursday without signing a final Protocol.

Ambassador Claus Neukirch, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, stated upon the meeting completion: “The negotiations in Bratislava were constructive, though occasionally very complicated. The parties considered the current situation of realization of the Berlin+ Package and discussed new priority confidence-building measures. The sides were very close to adopting the final Protocol. Negotiations will be continued in the nearest days so as to prepare a final variant of the Bratislava Protocol”.