Moldovan, Transdniestria leaders may meet in Bavaria soon - Ukrainian diplomat
CHISINAU. Aug 23 (Interfax) - Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Transdniestrian leader Eugen Sevciuc may meet in the near future, Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Serhiy Pyrozhkov said on Friday.
"Their personal agreement on this account in principle has been achieved," Pyrozhkov said at a press conference on Friday.
"The main problem is the agenda: What issues should be discussed at this meeting? Tiraspol insists on signing a protocol on free movement of cargo and individuals. This would mean that the bridge near the village of Gura Bicului in the district of Anenii Noi is supposed to start working and the traffic through the Odessa-Brest transport corridor should be resumed," Pyrozhkov said.
Another important issue on the agenda is the extension of a protocol on railroad transportation between Moldova and Transdniestria, which will expire on September 26, he said.
"Ukraine really expects that the meeting could take place in Bavaria, where the German government will arrange an international conference on a settlement of the Transdniestria issue at the end of September," he said.
Ukraine, as the country currently holding the OSCE chairmanship, has played a positive role in "making relations between Chisinau and Tiraspol more dynamic," he said.
"The parties' political representatives have held three rounds of negotiations in the past half a year. Our key goal is to continue the dialogue. Unfortunately, the mediators, the guarantors and the parties see a resolution of the conflict differently. Tiraspol is not ready for negotiations on political status. But there are also other problems that call for attention and resolution, for instance, the situation in the security area on the Dniester," Pyrozhkov said.
Kyiv and Chisinau are also working on speeding up the border formalities at the Ukrainian-Moldovan border, where long lines of cars accumulate in summer, he said.
The Ukrainian-Moldovan border demarcation, which is one of the longest-standing problems in relations between Kyiv and Chisinau, may be settled by the end of the year, he said.