Transnistria and Gagauzia

OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT BRATISLAVA PROTOCOL SIGNATURE SOON

31 octomber, 2019

OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger has expressed hope that the Protocol of the Bratislava round of the 5+2 format talks, held in early October, will be signed next week.

Speaking at the news conference held in Moscow on Thursday, following his negotiations with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, Thomas Greminger said that last week he had visited Washington DC where he conveyed a clear-cut message to American partners: “We are going through hard times, but this year we have managed to achieve certain successes, and saw that progress is possible with the availability of a political will and a sincere dialog”.

The OSCE Secretary General referred to two examples of such successes: the ongoing separation of forces in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions (eastern Ukraine) and the Transnistrian conflict settlement.

“In Transnistria, we saw a positive dynamic over one year, including at the latest round of negotiations held in Bratislava on October 9-10. And we hope that a final version of the Bratislava Protocol will be adopted already next week”, said the OSCE Secretary General.

Thomas Greminger stressed that in both cases, consolidated efforts are needed, and the parties concerned need to continue working to strengthen these successes.

“Russia is a key player in a number of negotiation formats – the Normandy Format, the Trilateral Contact Group, the 5+2 format, and I hope the Russian Federation will be able to use its weight so that we could get closer to peace. As Secretary General, I must ensure the Organization’s equal support to all Member Countries in order to efficiently struggle against threats to security. But the OSCE can be strong only when multilateral dialog and member countries’ political will are available”, said Thomas Greminger.

Sergey Lavrov said that Russia supports the OSCE activities in the Transnistrian conflict settlement, like in the case of other protracted conflicts and in ensuring stability. At the same time, Sergey Lavrov voiced regret that currently the OSCE’s unifying potential has been engaged not to its full extent.

“Russia consistently stands for OSCE strengthening in European and other international affairs. I believe the Secretary General and his team are successfully advancing to the Bratislava Summit of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers due in early December, and the member countries will hopefully focus on achieving consensuses on all agenda questions”, said the Russian Foreign Minister.

As was already reported by Infotag, due to certain differences that occurred between Chisinau and Tiraspol, the Bratislava round of talks ended without signing the Final Protocol. The parties concerned agreed to continue their negotiations so as to sign the Protocol at the informal conference on confidence-building measures to be held in Bavaria next week.

Add Comment

Add Comment

  • name
  • email
  • message
Thanks!
Your comment will be published after administrator approval.