OSCE envoy will seek to persuade Chisinau and Tiraspol to resume 5+2 talks
CHISINAU. Aug 26 (Interfax) - Ambassador Rodojko Bogojevic, Special Representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian settlement process, is due to visit Moldova to lay the groundwork for the next round of the 5+2 negotiations.
A spokesman for the OSCE Permanent Mission in Chisinau told Interfax that Bogojevic would launch his visit to Chisinau and Tiraspol on August 27.
On August 28, the special representative is expected to meet with Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Eugen Carpov, the spokesman said, adding that on August 29 the OSCE delegation would travel to Tiraspol for a meeting with Nina Shtanski, foreign minister of the breakaway province of Transdniestria.
The meetings in Chisinau and Tiraspol will be followed by joint press briefings.
During his visit to Moldova, Bogojevic will also meet with local diplomats.
Uncertainty surrounds the next round of the 5+2 Transdniestrian settlement talks, scheduled to take place in Vienna on September 11-12, after Carpov and Shtanski failed to confirm the event at their meeting in Chisinau on August 25.
Shtanski said that "it is difficult to hold negotiations at a time when Chisinau is exerting pressure on Tiraspol and Transdniestrian officials have been threatened with criminal prosecution."
"So far, we have not made our decision concerning this round of talks. We still have time to sort out all problems and stop putting pressure," she said.
Carpov, for his part, said that Chisinau had confirmed its participation in the upcoming 5+2 talks, but it "did not approve of the demands put forth by Tiraspol."
This year has seen only two rounds of the 5+2 negotiations, which, however, should be held once every two months. The first round was held in February, 2014, and the second one in June. Vienna hosted the talks, which were supposed to have taken place in Chisinau and Tiraspol. Meetings, initially set for April and July, were cancelled for different reasons and because of disagreements between the sides.
