Tiraspol - There are no preconditions for negotiations on settling the Transdniestria conflict in the 5+2 format at the present time, says Nina Stanski, the foreign minister of the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic.
“We said openly to our partners from the OSCE today that it is impossible to sit at the negotiating table when the principle of equality is violated and when someone treats representatives of one of the parties as criminals. We don’t see preconditions for continuing the negotiations in the 5+2 format,” Stanski told journalists following a meeting with Radojko Bogojevic, the special representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office for the Transdniestrian settlement process.
Stanski said she had mentioned at the meeting with Bogojevic that, since his previous visit to Tiraspol, Moldova has increased its pressure on Transdniestria.
“We learned yesterday that another criminal case has been opened, this time against [Transdniestrian] Supreme Court Chairman Vladimir Rymar,” Stanski said.
It was reported earlier that Moldova had opened criminal investigations against a number of Transdniestrian officials, including Transdniestrian Prime Minister Tatiana Turanskaia, charged with misusing her title.
There are issues on which progress is currently possible without consultations in a 5+2 format but through direct dialogue between Tiraspol and Chisinau, Stanski said. Among these issues, she mentioned the sale by Moldovan government bodies of radio frequencies currently used by the Transdniestria mobile operator Interdnestrcom to the Moldovan companies Orange and Moldcell.
“Another telephone war can be avoided without violating any international obligations. There is international experience. Moldovan and Ukrainian operators have faced similar problems. We asked Mr. Bogojevic to pass our proposal to the Moldovan side on direct inter-operator dialogue. It would be easier for businesses to reach an agreement than for political representatives and experts,” Stanski said.
Transdniestria is willing to continue dialogue with Chisinau on various terms, including meetings between political representatives and expert groups, she said.
Stanski also told Bogojevic about what she described as Moldova’s persistent economic pressure on Transdniestria, particularly manifested by the refusal to issue essential documents to Transdniestrian agricultural producers to export their produce.
Bogojevic plans to arrive in Transdniestria again on Oct. 30, following meetings with Moldovan leaders.
The 5+2 format envisions negotiations between Transdniestria and Moldova as the negotiating parties, with Russia, the OSCE and Ukraine as mediators and the EU and the US as observers.
