TIRASPOL. May 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The Transdniestrian Foreign Ministry said the acting Moldovan president is stretching the truth by saying that the negotiations on settling the Transdniestria problem have never been suspended.
"All the talk about the intensification of the negotiating process is wishful thinking. The acting Moldovan president is stretching the truth to try to divert public attention from the internal political situation. As long as there is no political leadership [in Moldova] and as long as the government has not been set up, there is no sense in holding negotiations. Therefore, Vladimir Voronin's words about the 5+2 format is just a sign of respect for the Western partners," Transdniestrian Foreign Minister Vladimir Iastrebciac told journalists at a news conference in Tiraspol.
The 5+2 format envisions involvement of negotiators from Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, Russia, and Ukraine plus observers from the U.S. and the EU in the talks.
Iastrebciac admitted that negotiations could also be held "with the acting Moldovan president and parliamentary chairman," but, under all the agreements signed earlier, political decisions can be made only by the Transdniestrian and Moldovan leaders.
At the same time, Iastrebciac said Transdniestria was considering a package of proposals from the OSCE on confidence building measures between Moldova and Transdniestria in various fields.
He suggested that a lot of the OSCE proposals deserve attention, and therefore these documents will soon be passed to the Transdniestrian Education Ministry and the Environmental Control and Natural Resources Ministry for consideration.