CHISINAU, February 29. /TASS/. The "5+2" negotiations (Moldova, Transnistria, the OSCE, Russia, Ukraine and observers from the US and the EU) has no alternative and remains the only internationally recognized mechanism for the talks seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict, Transnistrian Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev said at a meeting with British Ambassador to Moldova Fern Horine.

"Sooner or later we will get back to work, but we will lose time. Perhaps, somebody cherish the illusion that the settlement should not take place in a transparent and competitive format. I believe it is not merely a mistake, but it is a criminal mistake," Ignatiev said, as quoted by the unrecognized republic’s Foreign Ministry.

The statement said that during the meeting the two diplomats focused on some aspects of bilateral cooperation and agreed to maintain contact on pressing issues.

The previous meeting for the "5+2 format" was held in Bratislava in 2019, and talks were put on ice afterward. At first, this was due to political instability in Moldova, then relations between the two banks of the Dniester cooled even further after the election of Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who made some harsh statements about Tiraspol and refused to meet with the president of the breakaway republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky. Tiraspol insists on the unconditional resumption of the talks, which is supported by Moscow as well. Earlier, the OSCE mission to Moldova also admitted that the dialogue had been put on pause due to the escalation between the two banks of the Dniester.