Tánaiste Hails Breakthrough in Transdniestrian Settlement Talks

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore, TD, in his capacity as Chairperson of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), welcomed today’s announcement of a breakthrough reached in the OSCE-led negotiations towards a Transdniestrian settlement.  [http://www.osce.org/cio/89752]

He congratulated his Special Representative for the talks, Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, who brokered the agreement on the principles and procedures of the talks and the future agenda of the negotiations (called the ‘5 + 2 Talks’), on this significant achievement in complex negotiations in which agreement even on the basic framework has hitherto proved elusive.  The Tánaiste said:

“This is a notable step forward and great credit is due to Erwan Fouere and the team of negotiators, including the Moldovan and the Transdniestrian Chief Negotiators.  Of course, much remains to be done before a final settlement is agreed but this is a very encouraging start and we hope that the positive spirit displayed today augurs well for the future”.

The agreement reached today in Vienna builds on progress made at the initial meeting under the current Chairmanship held in Farmleigh on 28 February.