Chisinau, Tiraspol negotiators may meet in late July - Moldovan deputy PM

CHISINAU. June 25 (Interfax) - Transdniestrian settlement negotiators from Chisinau and Tiraspol may meet in late July, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Valeriu Chiveri said.

"We have proposed holding another meeting in the 1+1 format in late July. We are awaiting a Tiraspol delegation in Chisinau," Chiveri told the media. He said this was the only functioning format for communication with Tiraspol at present.

Chisinau proposes discussing the work of the Convergence Fund (which is supposed to accumulate taxes on imports in Transdniestria for investment in projects on the Dniester's east bank), he said. The new mechanism, to be implemented before 2030 in a phased manner, will be presented shortly, Chiveri said. "Tiraspol has not been very enthusiastic about the establishment of this fund. However, it is important to us that the issue is being increasingly discussed by the public in the eastern regions," he said.

The 1+1 format is the only remaining platform for Chisinau-Tiraspol dialogue. Three 1+1 meetings were held in 2024, followed by two in 2025, and another two in February and April 2026. All of them were held on territory controlled by the Transdniestrian administration and hosted by OSCE Mission offices in Tiraspol and Bender. The reason is that Tiraspol negotiator Vitaly Ignatyev has been refusing to visit Chisinau since mid-2024. He said he feared being arrested in Chisinau, as the Moldovan parliament had passed a so-called Separatism Law.

According to the regulations for 1+1 talks, they should be hosted alternately by Chisinau and Tiraspol.