Transdniestrian leader calls for resuming 5+2 talks

TIRASPOL. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Transdniestrian leader Vadim Krasnoselsky has called for settlement negotiations in the 5+2 format to be resumed, the press service for the president of the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic said.

"Transdniestria remains committed to preserving the 5+2 international negotiating format and resuming its full-scale, productive work," Krasnoselsky said at a meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Eastern Europe Christopher Smith in Tiraspol on Tuesday.

Krasnoselsky described the 5+2 format as "a platform where the situation can be studied and analyzed, joint decisions can be taken, and enquiries can be made about the fulfillment of agreements." According to Krasnoselsky, "the negotiating process should proceed no matter how different the positions of the sides might be."

The United States favors a peaceful resolution of the Transdniestrian conflict and a positive dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol, Smith said.

The 5+2 format (Moldova, Transdniestria, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE, as well as EU and U.S. observers) has been defunct for the past five years. Only one meeting was held at the end of 2019 but no results were achieved. Back in late October 2023, Krasnoselsky called for negotiations in the 5+2 format to be resumed, but admitted that "the geopolitical situation is not appropriate for this." Soon afterwards, Moldovan Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said that the 5+2 Transdniestrian settlement format had ceased to exist and could not be revived. Ukraine said in mid-December 2023 that it would take no part in the 5+2 Transdniestrian settlement format because of Russia's participation in it.

Diplomats from all 5+2 parties attended a meeting of Moldovan and Transdniestrian negotiators hosted by the OSCE mission in Tiraspol at the end of January.