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Transdniestria accuses Moldova of trying to exert pressure on its diplomats

CHISINAU, April 21. /TASS/. The unrecognized republic of Transdniestria has accused the Moldovan authorities of trying to exert pressure on its diplomats who are taking part in the informal 5+2 format consultations in Vienna, according to a statement released by the Transdniestrian foreign ministry’s press service on Tuesday.

"The incident over adviser to the Transdniestrian foreign minister, Dmitry Palamarchuk, who was detained at the Chisinau airport by the Moldovan border police for a body search, could have frustrated participation of the Transdniestrian delegation in the Vienna meeting. We consider such actions of the Moldovan side as a deliberate demarche," the document said, describing the incident as "irrelevant demonstration by Chisinau of its force instruments and discriminatory actions against representatives of the Transdniestrian delegation." "It reveals Moldova’s distorted approach that runs counter to the principal fundamentals of the negotiating process," the document said.

Moldova’s delegation to the Vienna consultations that started on Tuesday is led by Deputy Prime Minister for reintegration Victor Osipov. The Transdniestrian delegation is led by the republic’s Foreign Minister Nina Shtanski. The consultations also involve representatives of mediators - Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - and observers - the European Union and the United States. Negotiations are being held in an extended format, for the first time in the past year. Three out of five official meeting in such format planned for 2014 were cancelled.

The meeting in Vienna was agreed by Osipov and Shtanski. The latter said it was not the resumption of Five Plus Two talks but mere consultations. Moldova’s reintegration bureau confirmed the informal nature of the negotiations, which have no agreed agenda.

Transdniestrian media said the republic’s foreign minister planned to raise the problem of "economic blockade of Transdniestria" by Moldova and Ukraine.

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