Chisinau again abstains from evaluating Transdniestrian presidential elections
CHISINAU. Dec 14 (Interfax) - Chisinau declared its adherence to a path of settling the Transdniestrian conflict within a united Moldova, following the Transdniestrian presidential elections, the Moldovan government's Bureau for Reintegration, which is in charge of the Transdniestrian settlement process, said in a commentary on its website on Wednesday.
"The Bureau for Reintegration has taken into account the so-called elections held in eastern districts of the Republic of Moldova on December 11 and has reaffirmed the determination of the Moldovan authorities to maintain the serviceability of every available dialogue platform," it said.
The Bureau said it intends to take positive steps, "which would exhibit the openness and the political will of Chisinau for solving pressing problems of people on both banks of the Dniester River and for improving their living standards through efforts towards the final settlement of the Transdniestrian problem, the restoration of a single national space, and the achievement of the national reintegration goal."
"We are declaring in the same context that the principles of Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the protection of rights and fundamental freedoms, and the determination of the special legal status of the Transdniestrian region within the united and undivided Moldova are fundamental to the Transdniestrian settlement process," the commentary said.
It offered no opinion on the elections' outcome and the change of administration in Transdniestria. The document defined the elections as 'so-called' but did not evaluate the election process and did not declare the very fact of elections unlawful, in contrast to the statements made in previous years.
Transdniestrian Parliament Speaker Vadim Krasnoselsky won the presidential elections in the first round with more than 62% of the vote on Sunday. The president-elect will be inaugurated on Friday, December 16.