MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. The Kiev regime is trying to provoke Moldova to the use of force in Transnistria, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Department of CIS Countries Alexey Polishchuk told TASS on Sunday.
"In April-June, a series of terror attacks was carried out in Transnistria and their traces, as Tiraspol says, lead to Ukraine. Simultaneously, Kiev makes allegations about a threat emanating from the Russian military contingent that is on duty on the left bank of the Dniester River. The goal is obvious: to try to provoke the Moldovan authorities to the use of force [in Transnistria]," the high-ranking diplomat said.
The danger of the escalation in Transnistria persists, he cautioned.
"This is related to the attempts by external forces, first of all, Kiev, to destabilize the situation in the region," he pointed out.
"It is gratifying that Chisinau understands the consequences of ‘unfreezing’ the conflict in the Dniester area and does not react to such provocations," the senior Russian diplomat said.
"No alternative to the 5+2 format [(involving Moldova and Transnistria as parties to the conflict, Russia, Ukraine and the European security watchdog OSCE as mediators and the United States and the European Union as observers] can be seen," he stressed.
"Despite a pause in the work, it [the 5+2 format] remains the sole multilateral mechanism whose framework allows searching for a comprehensive solution to the Dniester issue," he explained.
In the current situation, it is important as never before "to develop a productive dialogue between both banks of the Dniester," Polishchuk said.
"This relates not only to interaction in terms of solving practical issues in the trade and economic, transport and logistics, medical and other spheres directly influencing ordinary residents in the region. There is still something to work on in this regard," he added.
As the high-ranking diplomat recalled, Tiraspol "has repeatedly called on Chisinau to start substantive talks on the parameters of comprehensive settlement in the Dniester region," he said.
"However, there has been no clear-cut response from the Moldovan side to date and without reciprocal constructive steps hardly any shifts in the Transnistrian settlement can be expected," the high-ranking diplomat said.