New working meeting of political representatives in Transnistrian settlement negotiations held after break of more than 15 months

A new working meeting today was held between the political representatives in the negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement from Chisinau and Tiraspol, Valeriu Chiveri and Vitalii Ignatiev, at the office of the OSCE Mission to Moldova in Tiraspol after a break of more than 15 months (the previous meeting took place on 19 November 2024).

The Chisinau delegation was accompanied by a group of journalists from the right bank of Dniester, who had access to the introductory part of the round and the opportunity to ask questions to both negotiators after the discussions concluded.

In his message, Deputy PM Valeriu Chiveri’ reiterated Moldovan authorities’ firm commitment to a sustainable and peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, with full respect for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

The chief negotiator from Chisinau stressed explicitly that the core objective of the settlement was the reintegration of the eastern districts of the country into the unified legal, economic, social, educational and other spaces of Moldova, and by no means the development of alleged bilateral relations between the two banks. Accordingly, the political representative from Tiraspol was urged to abandon illusory approaches and to accept Chisinau’s reintegration offer, which has no alternative.

Chiveri noted the intention to establish a convergence fund, consisting of national and international contributions, meant to finance social and infrastructure projects on both banks.

Chisinau’s political representative expressed gratitude for Tiraspol’s constructive involvement in resolving the issue of supplying necessary goods to the residents of the Cocieri plateau during the suspension of the Molovata ferry, and also recalled the need for a final settlement of the issue of freedom of movement on the left bank of the Nistru and in the municipality of Bender for all categories of citizens, including journalists, by eliminating the infrastructure of illegal control posts.

Human rights were reiterated as an acute problem in the Transnistrian region, with a renewed call for the release of Moldova’s citizens from illegal detention and the annulment of the grounds for their persecution for alleged extremist activities, with specific reference to cases before the European Court of Human Rights concerning infringements committed in the region.

The problems faced by farmers from the Dubasari district and by Romanian-language schools of the Transnistrian region were also reiterated. The Chisinau delegation called on Tiraspol to resolve them in line with previously assumed commitments, including progress on the issue of providing dedicated premises for the theoretical lyceums Evrika from Rabnita and Stefan cel Mare si Sfant in Grigoriopol.

The deputy PM for Reintegration put forward the proposal that, as of September 1 this year, the study of the Romanian language be introduced in the educational process in all educational institutions in the region, and that the implementation of a pilot project be ensured, starting with the city of Bender and then in other localities of the region, in order to provide residents with access to the 112 emergency service.

Chisinau rejected as unfounded the allegations made by Tiraspol’s political representative that the criminalization of separatism in the Criminal Code of Moldova constitutes an alleged impediment in the negotiation process. The Moldovan delegation clarified, with regard to various cases of detention at the state border and refusal of entry into the country of certain foreign nationals, that these are individual situations related to the activities of law-enforcement authorities implementing the requirements of the legislation in force.

As for Tiraspol’s initiatives to establish mechanisms of interaction between the two banks in various fields (combating crime, early warning of seismic risks, environmental protection), Chisinau specified that the identification of viable solutions and the adoption of appropriate measures can be ensured through the access of the competent national authorities to the region.

Concerning the import into the country of certain categories of medicines for the Transnistrian region, Chisinau said that these uncertainties can be overcome by complying with the requirements of the current legislation, aligned with European Union standards, and by harmonizing with the relevant nomenclatures on the right bank of Dniester.

At the same time, the sides discussed the process of issuing neutral-design license plates for vehicles from the Transnistrian region. They noted that this mechanism would remain functional for the categories of vehicles and within the parameters set by the legislation in force, and that this approach cannot be applied to ambulances transporting patients, which must comply with medical protocols and specific regulations.

With regard to Tiraspol’s attempt to politicize the content of the recently published history textbooks on the right bank of Dniester, it was recalled that locally distributed teaching materials continue to contain interpretations and narratives that portray processes and developments in Moldova in a negative light.

The political representatives agreed to maintain constant interaction, contribute to identifying viable ways of addressing current issues, and stimulate the work of the sectoral working groups, so that they meet regularly and discuss the agenda topics at a technical level.

The date, place and agenda of the next working meeting are to be agreed upon through consultations conducted via the communication channel between the offices of the political representatives.