PRESS RELEASE

Bavaria conference promotes progress in the Transdniestrian settlement process

MURNAU AM STAFFELSEE, Germany, 6 November 2019 – A two-day conference on confidence-building measures in the Transdniestrian settlement process concluded yesterday in Murnau am Staffelsee, Bavaria, Germany. The conference offered an informal platform for in-depth exchanges between representatives from the Republic of Moldova and Transdniestria on the ways to move forward with the outstanding priorities from the “Berlin-plus” package and beyond. Independent international experts and representatives from the mediators and observers in the 5+2 format contributed to these discussions. 

“Dialogue is key to finding common ground, and the Sides have used this conference to address challenges at hand and intensify their efforts on achieving pragmatic results, which will improve people’s quality of life on both banks,” said Head of the OSCE Mission Moldova Claus Neukirch. “Focus on the result-oriented approach will move Chisinau and Tiraspol closer to the long-term goal of finding a final solution to the Transdniestrian issue.”

Over the course of two days, experts from the working groups and political representatives from Moldova and Transdniestria discussed concrete reciprocal steps to address issues in the fields of education, freedom of movement, economy and trade. The Sides, among other things, agreed to remove technical barriers to trade and sign a relevant protocol decision. Joint implementation of these steps will give a renewed impetus to working groups and drive the settlement process forward. 

The mediators and observers in the settlement process acknowledged the added value of the conference in identifying the way forward, and encouraged Chisinau and Tiraspol to demonstrate political will in advancing the settlement process. 

The conference, which is a confidence-building measure in itself, was organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office.

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