TIRASPOL, September 05 /ITAR-TASS/. Moldova’s Republic of Transdniestria has refused to participate in the next round of the “5+2” negotiations for the Dniester settlement in Vienna on September 11-12, the vice-premier and foreign minister of the unrecognized republic, Nina Shtanski, said on Thursday.
"Transdniestria did not confirm its readiness to participate in the next round of talks because of Moldova’s unfriendly policy,” Shtanski said after a meeting with Moldova’s Vice-Premier Yevgeny Karpov who represents Moldova at the talks.
Last year, the Moldovan authorities initiated criminal proceedings against more than 15 officials, including the head of government, several ministers and regional heads, of the Republic of Transdniestria. That, according to Shtanski, halted the work of joint expert groups dealing with the Dniester settlement at an inter-departmental level.
“Criminal proceedings have been initiated against some members of these groups whose task is to promote trust. These actions are, indeed, absurd and lack any good logic. Naturally, they run counter to the previously-built system of cooperation brokered by international partners,” Shtanski went on to say.
The “5+2” talks (Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, Russia, Ukraine and observers from the United States and the European Union) have been postponed three times this year. The main reason for that is that Moldova suggests getting over to political issues, including Transdniestria’s future status as part of Moldova. Transdniestria believes that it would be premature and insists on the solution of economic and social issues with an aim to build mutual trust.