President of Moldova: Russia advocates special status for Transnistria

President of Moldova Igor Dodon has discussed the current process of the Moldovan-Transnistrian settlement with Russian Ambassador to Chisinau Farit Mukhametshin and Special Envoy of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Gubarev.

“Representatives of Russia came out for peaceful resolution of the Transnistrian situation based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republican of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders as well as for a special status for Transnistria with an appropriate system of guarantees for the population,” Dodon says in social media post.

The project of Chisinau and Kiev on border control over the Transnistrian section of the border was discussed too.

“Chisinau will take all the necessary efforts to rule out financial and economic risks for physical and legal persons from Transnistria in the process of customs and border control on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border in the area of Kuchurgan-Pervomaysk (Transnistrian segment of the border),” Igor Dodon writes.

Earlier, Sergey Gubarev travelled to Tiraspol and discussed the so-called border issue with Vitaly Ignatyev, the head of the region’s Foreign Policy Department.

Transnistria retains its stance on deployment of Ukrainian and Moldovan security forces on its border and deems it inadmissible.

Transnistria’s leadership has enlisted the support of the Russian partners concerning discussion of the situation in the 5+2 format (Chisinau and Tiraspol – the sides to the conflict, Russia, Ukraine and OSCE – mediators, EU and U.S. - observers).

“We have supported the settlement of the painful issues that have accumulated between Chisinau and Tiraspol, since the people on both the banks of Dniester need this severely,” the president says for conclusion.