KYIV. June 2 (Interfax-AVN) - The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) believes the format of the peacekeeping operation in Transdniestria should be changed to internationalize the peacekeeping mission in the breakaway Moldovan territory, OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said.
Speaking at a news conference at the Kucurhan-Pervomaisk checkpoint on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border on Thursday, De Gucht said the international monitoring forces to replace the peacekeeping contingent should not be purely military.
Russia could also be part of these forces, he said.
The Transdniestrian government should start substantial negotiations on this issue, he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk said the Ukrainian government would consider its possible involvement in such a mission.
"We support OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Belgian Foreign Minister De Gucht's proposal regarding the transformation of the peacekeeping operation in a way that it would become a monitoring mission under the aegis of the OSCE," he said.
Since the decision on transforming the peacekeeping operation has not yet been made, Ukraine's participation in these forces has not yet been considered, Tarasyuk said.
"If Ukraine receives a request from the OSCE head, I believe the Ukrainian government will consider this proposal," he said.