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Voronin "not against" resuming 5+2 talks over Pridnestrovie, Ukraine ambassador says
Vladimir Voronin isn't opposed to restarting status settlement negotiations with Pridnestrovie in the existing 5+2 format. So says Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Sergei Pirozhkov after a personal meeting with the Moldovan president. Moldova abruptly left the talks on 28 February 2006; claiming that they were a waste of time.
Sergei Pirozhkov, Ukraine's Ambassador to Moldova, blames the sides in the conflict for failure in their status settlement talksODESSA (Tiraspol Times) - Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin is "not against" restarting status settlement talks with Pridnestrovie in the existing 5+2 format, according to a first-hand account by Sergei Pirozhkov, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova. The previous round of talks ended in failure when Moldova's negotiators walked out and unilaterally abandoned the talks, only to impose a previously coordinated customs clampdown a few days later which is still in effect against Pridnestrovie's exports.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Sergei Pirozhkov said that his country wants the talks to resume. He made this clear during a question and answer pow-wow of the press-club in Odessa, southern Ukraine, where he also stated that progress towards settlement of the Moldova-Pridnestrovie conflict is blocked through the fault of the conflicting sides.
" - Everybody understands that it is necessary to unblock this process. And Ukraine is making all possible efforts... Not long ago I had a personal meeting with Vladimir Voronin (Moldovan President), who said that he is not against the resumption of talks in the 5+2 format", Sergei Pirozhkov told the assembled journalists.
Moldova abruptly and unilaterally left an existing round of talks on 28 February 2006; claiming that the other side - Pridnestrovie - was intransigent and that no results could be reached. Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, and as well as the United States and Europe, all continued at the negotiating table, but with Moldova's unilateral walk-out the talks had to be abandoned when it became clear that the Moldovan representatives would not return.
On Friday that same week, the Moldova-orchestrated customs blockade on the Pridnestrovie-Ukraine border came into effect with no prior warning. Tiraspol was only officially informed by a letter which arrived on Tuesday the following week. At an official level, no direct status settlement negotiations between the sides have taken place ever since.
- Status talks in pressure-free climate
Today, it appears that Moldova are now interesting in restarting the talks. In public at least, Moldova has paid lip service to EU proposals for new negotiations.
In response, Pridnestrovie has pointed out that for negotiations to be fruitful, it is necessary to first create a climate where the status talks can take place with no pressure. This means that Moldova should first dismantle its economic blockade and allow Pridnestrovie to resume exports according to the 1997 agreement between the sides which defines Pridnestrovie as a separate economic entity. Tiraspol's elected representatives ask to negotiate in a climate of no economic or military pressure, stating that "it isn't fair to be forced to sit down and talk while the other side is pointing a gun to our head."
Ambassador Sergei Pirozhkov also said that a meeting of the Presidents of Ukraine Victor Yushenko and of Moldova Vladimir Voronin is slated for 20 September 2007. According to Sergei Pirozhkov, Vladimir Voronin intends to visit Odessa during the opening of the Odessa Theater after its restoration, where a meeting between two Presidents can take place, Infotag reported with reference to Ukrainian mass media.
The "5+2" format refers to the original five parties to negotiations plus two newcomers who are observers and not full participants. The original five are Moldova and Pridnestrovie, as the two sides to the conflict, and mediators Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Russia and Ukraine are also considered "guarantor countries" for the observance of agreements made within the negotiating format.
In addition to the original five, two new parties joined in 2005 as mere observers: The United States and the European Union. Since they joined, at Moldova's urging, progress in the talks went from bad to worse before finally grinding to a complete halt when Moldova walked out in early 2006. (With information from Infotag)
See also:
» Russia mediates between Moldova, Pridnestrovie over stalled status talks
» Vitaliy Ignatiev: "Status settlement needs unbiased, impartial mediation"
Moldova Parliament Speaker Marian Lupu met with the Speaker of Transdniestria's Parliament Yevgeny Shevchuk in Brussels on Wednesday. Yevgeny Shevchuk had been invited to the Belgian capital by the European Union. On Thursday he is expected to address a conference at the European Parliament about 'de facto' independent states. . . 
