TIRASPOL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2018) The normalization of relations between Chisinau and Tiraspol is possible on the basis of the principle of equality, the Foreign Ministry of the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria said.
"The normalization of relations between Transnistria and the Republic of Moldova should be based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, good neighborly relations and taking the democratically expressed will of the Transnistrian people into consideration," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its website on Friday.
The Foreign Ministry slammed the statement, adopted by the OSCE Ministerial Council at a meeting in Milan this week, on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, saying that it failed to significantly influence the settlement process since it did not take into consideration the position of Tiraspol as a side to the conflict resolution talks.
Tiraspol also criticized the recent statement by Moldovan Foreign Minister Tudor Ulianovschi, calling for the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeepers contingent from Transnistria and deploying a civilian mission there instead.
The Foreign Ministry argued that such calls "have nothing to do with the real interest in preserving peace and normalizing the relations between the sides to the conflict, as well as discredit one of the most responsible co-mediators in the 5+2 format."
On Friday, Special Representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian Settlement Process, Franco Frattini, told Sputnik that Russia made significantly helped achieve distinctive results in the Transnistria settlement process.
The Transnistrian settlement negotiations under the "5+2" format include Moldova and Transnistria as the sides to the conflict; Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as the mediators; and the United States and the European Union as the observers. The last round of negotiations was held on May 29 in Rome.
Transnistria is a region where 60 percent of the population are Russians and Ukrainians. The region broke away from Moldova in 1990, fearing that the country would reunify with Romania after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This decision triggered a war, which ended in 1992. However, the issue remains unresolved and Transnistria continues to be an unrecognized state.
Since 1992, peacekeepers have been deployed to maintain stability in the security zone in Transnistria. The mission comprises military personnel from Moldova, Transnistria and Russia as well as Ukrainian observers.
