“OLVIA-PRESS”

DELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION VISITED DNIESTRIA.

Today, delegation of the European Union has made an official visit to the Dniester Moldavian Republic. The councilor for the CIS countries of the EU representative for foreign policy and security issues Kornelis van Rige headed the delegation. The delegation included the Ambassador of France in the Republic of Moldova Dominique Gasuit, the Ambassador of Germany Michael Zickerick, and the Ambassador of Great Britain Bernard Whiteside.

The DMR minister of foreign affairs Valery Litskay headed the Dniestrian party at negotiations taken place in Tiraspol. Delegation of the European Union was interested in situation with the negotiation process between Dniestria and Moldova as well as the procedure of the OSCE Istanbul summit decision, which suppose liquidation of the Russian military presence in Dniestria till late 2002. Commenting on results of the meeting and giving interview to the press agency “Olvia-press” Valery Litskay emphasized, “there is explicit position of the EU so that Istanbul decisions would be accomplished. That’s why they control each step of that process”.

Besides, the European diplomats were interested in position of the official Tiraspol regarding perspectives of Moldavian-Dniestrian settlement. The EU has lately shown rather efficient examples of resolving such conflicts. The principle of association of states, which Europe has practically applied in Serbia and Montenegro as well as in the Cyprus, mostly coincides with Dniestrian proposals. According to Valery Litskay, “when we showed our documents on Moldavian-Dniestrian settlement and carried out parallel analysis with both Montenegro document and those bases we received regarding the Cyprus, they appeared to be very much coinciding. These all are models of the common state”.

In the near future, the OSCE Summit will take place in Vienna, and by results of the meeting in Tiraspol, the EU delegation will present its report on relationship of Moldova and Dniestria, where they will reflect our proposals as well.

As the head of DMR MFA informed us, “apart from, the OSCE Summit will discuss the Dniestrian problem. And the EU as a guarantor organization, as the one able to resolve efficiently all problems in its territory, is anxious with the situation turned out here. In particular, they worry about the situation connected with irresolution of economic problems. Besides, they are interested in our view on political resolution, so that to write a report and study it in detail in few weeks. I have been telling for many times that they do not believe representatives of Moldova unilaterally, and so they come here specially to learn the situation here on the spot, and to talk to each party. I think this visit was very interesting and useful and hope it will have positive consequences already on the OSCE Summit in Vienna”.

Leaving Tiraspol, representatives of the EU declared that visits of European diplomats to Dniestria would hence become far more often.