Moldova says impossible to revive 5+2 Transdniestrian settlement format

CHISINAU. Nov 3 (Interfax) - The 5+2 Transdniestrian settlement format involving Moldova, Transdniestria, Russia, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and observers from the United States and the European Union has ceased to exist and cannot be revived, Moldovan Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said.

"The 5+2 format is gone, it is obsolete and counterproductive. Even if someone tries to 'raise the dead', that would not be possible," Grosu said on the JurnalTV television channel on Friday.

Russia is a party to the format, but it cannot mediate the negotiations, he said.

Political representatives of Chisinau and Tiraspol are in talks to address current problems, Grosu said.

"Our task is to maintain peace and stability on both banks of the Dniester. We understand this the same as people on the eastern bank of the Dniester and the separatist regime [do]. Isolated provocations may happen, but we can see that everyone has realized that this is no time for jokes, and peace must be preserved," he said.

As for Moldova's European integration, he confirmed that the western bank of the Dniester might integrate with the EU before the eastern bank does.

"These are parallel processes. Everyone enters the EU when they ready from every angle. We are discussing the matter with Brussels. There are no strong objections, especially as one state has entered the EU with an outstanding territorial conflict," Grosu said, referring to Cyprus.