Moldovan and Transdnestr presidents having talks in Bendery
Today, on April 11, a meeting of president of Transdnestr and Moldova, Igor Smirnov and Vladimir Voronin, started in Bendery at noon local time (01:00 p.m. Moscow time), a REGNUM correspondent reports.
Earlier, during a phone talk on April 7, the parties discussed subjects of further dialog, including a draft general agreement on friendship and cooperation, as well initiatives of the Moldovan side regarding development and strengthening of measures of trust.
The talks are held in the offices of the Bendery City Administration. Security measures increased in the city, part of the central square is cordoned-off for vehicles and pedestrians.
It is worth reminding, the last meeting of the Moldovan and Transdnestr leaders took place on August 8, 2001; after that they did not meet within seven years. During that time, the negotiation process took pace in the form of 5+2 (with Moldova and Transdnestr as parties in the conflicts, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediators, and the European Union and the United States as observers — REGNUM), where the parties were represented by the heads of the foreign ministries: Valery Litskai from Transdnestr and Vasily Shova from Moldova.
On February 28, 2006, the second stage of the fourth round of the Transdnestr settlement talks was held in Tiraspol in the offices of the OSCE Mission. The talks were held behind the closed doors. More than four hours after the meeting started, members of the Moldovan delegation led by Reintegration Minister Vasily Shova left the meeting. First, the head of the OSCE mission William Hill, than member of the Transdnestr delegation Alexander Porozhan tried to stop Shova from leaving. However, Vasily Shova did not give up his intention and left the talks declining comments.
On March 3, 2006, Ukrainian customs checkpoints on the border of Ukraine and Transdnestr stopped passage of freights registered by the Transdnestr customs. On March 4, 2006, railway movement of goods and passengers via Transdnestr was fully suspended. Tiraspol considered the action as an “economic blockade” and refused to continue the negotiation process until a transit protocol is signed aimed at settling the customs crisis in Transdnestr.
14:38 04/11/2008
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