EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton has said she supports a statement by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara regarding the possible negative consequences of the unilateral adoption of a Transdniestrian legal act on the border.
“I support the statement made on June 17 by OSCE
Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara,
regarding the Transdniestrian authorities’ de facto so-called legal act
on the border. I urge the two sides of the Transdniestrian conflict to
work in a constructive spirit, within the framework of the 5+2
negotiating process, towards a peaceful settlement,” reads her
statement, which was passed to an Interfax-Ukraine reporter in Brussels
on Friday.
In this context, Ashton reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting
the settlement process “in the interests and for the benefit of the
populations on the ground, through dialogue with all the parties
concerned and through an extensive program of confidence-building
measures open to both sides.”
“In this context, I wish to recall that two decades of unresolved
conflict have led to a continuous deterioration in living conditions in
the affected areas, and that only a forward-looking, peaceful,
negotiated solution that will respect the fundamental rights of all the
citizens residing within the internationally recognized borders of the
Republic of Moldova will be able to bring a viable settlement conducive
to lasting peace and prosperity on the Dniester River,” reads the
statement.
As reported, on June 17, Kozhara expressed concern about possible
negative consequences for the Transdniestrian settlement of the adoption
of the Transdniestrian legal act on the border.
“The unilateral adoption of documents contradicts some provisions of
the Agreement on the Principles of Peaceful Settlement of the Armed
Conflict in the Transdniestrian Region of the Republic of Moldova of
July 21, 1992, as well as other agreements previously reached by the
sides,” Kozhara said.
As reported, on June 10, Transdniestrian President Yevgeny Shevchuk
signed a law on the state border of the Transdniestrian Moldovan
Republic, which outlined the conceptual foundations of the status of the
state border and border policy. The law allows the determination of the
borders of the territory subordinated to Transdniestrian state
sovereignty.
