Hoge Vertegenwoordiger Ashton verwelkomt gesprekken tussen Moldavië en Transnistrië (en)

EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 12 September 2011

Statement by the spokesperson of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton i on the situation in Transnistria

The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement today:

"The High Representative warmly welcomes the meeting of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Vlad Filat, and the Transnistrian leader, Igor Smirnov, which took place on 9 September in the German town of Bad Reichenhall. Such bilateral contacts are meant to build consensus between the two sides on the need to resume negotiations in the "5+2 " format, which have been stalled since 2006.

The High Representative also welcomes the adoption of commonly agreed rules of procedure for the working groups set up by Chisinau and Tiraspol to discuss confidence-building measures in the interest of the population living on both sides of the Nistru river.

The EU hopes the parties will agree to renew negotiations when they meet again in Moscow later this month. In that context, the effective implementation of confidence-building measures and the continuation of bilateral contacts at the political level between the two sides will be essential building blocks for the success of negotiations on the settlement of the Transnistria conflict."

PRESS

FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Michael Mann +32 498 999 780 - +32 2 299 97 80 - Michael.Mann@eeas.europa.eu Maja Kocijancic +32 498 984 425 - +32 2 298 65 70 - Maja.Kocijancic@ec.europa.eu COMM-SPP-HRVP-ASHTON @ec.europa.eu www.eeas.europa.eu