Russia is willing to facilitate dialogue between the parties to Transnistrian conflict, both in the “5+2” format and through bilateral talks, according to Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, as reported by the media.
Earlier, Moldovan President Maia Sandu stated that her country might join the EU without Transnistria.
“It seems to me that what we need right now is a real dialogue between the parties, aimed at building mutual trust and resolving pressing issues, rather than empty declarations,” Zakharova said, commenting on the Moldovan president’s statement. She added that such dialogue should take place with international support.
“The Russian Federation, as a mediator and guarantor in the Transnistrian settlement process, is ready to facilitate this dialogue, both in the ‘5+2’ format and through bilateral negotiations,” the Russian Foreign Ministry representative concluded.
The “5+2” format involves talks between Chisinau and Tiraspol as the conflicting parties, with Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE as mediators, and the EU and the US as observers. The last meeting at the level of foreign ministers of the mediator and observer countries took place in Bratislava in the fall of 2019.
Transnistria, where 60% of the population are Russians and Ukrainians, has been seeking to secede from Moldova since the late Soviet era. The reason for this was the fear that Moldova would join Romania, fueled by nationalist sentiments. In 1992, after Chisinau’s failed attempt to solve the problem through force, Transnistria effectively became an independent territory.
