Tiraspol counts on real progress at Transdniestrian settlement talks on 5+2 format
TIRASPOL. May 20 (Interfax) - President of the self-proclaimed Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic Yevgeny Shevchuk is counting on progress at talks on the Transdniestrian settlement on the 5+2 format that should resume in Berlin, in June.
Delivering his annual message to the nation and government bodies, Shevchuk said that despite the problems in the negotiating process "we are counting on real and serious advancement at the talks in the 5+2 format [Moldova and Transdniestria as sides to the conflict, Russia, Ukraine and OSCE as mediators, EU and the USA as observers] and regard as a priority, the settlement of a whole group of problems in the travels of our citizens, interaction of the sides in the economy and transportation."
The resumption of the talks in the 5+2 format that were interrupted in 2014, is slated for the beginning of June in Berlin.
Describing the foreign and domestic problems Transdniestria is facing, Shevchuk stressed that "we proceed from a peaceful policy aimed at the establishment of mutually-beneficial neighborly relations."
"However, neighborly relations cannot be built by tools of criminal persecution [Moldova has launched over 80 criminal cases of "arbitrariness and usurpation of power" with regard to Transdniestrian officials] or the suppression of the economic potential of Transdniestrian companies," he said.
Shevchuk also recalled the steps by Ukraine that reduced contacts with Transdniestria to a minimum. "Not a single official from the Foreign Ministry of the Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic is allowed to enter the territory of Ukraine today. We can recognize that, in the last two years, contacts with representatives of official Kyiv have become minimal due to which a serious set of unresolved problems remains on the agenda," he said.
Speaking of Transdniestrian-Russian relations, he thanked Russia for the assistance extended in various spheres, and also the implementation of several projects in health protection and education.
Among priority directions on the domestic scene Shevchuk named resolving economic, employment and demographic problems.