Mr. Chairperson,

The delegation of Ukraine welcomes the resumption of the “5+2” negotiation process in Vienna after a lengthy pause. The agreement reached by the sides on several social and economic issues can be viewed as a breakthrough in the Transdniestrian settlement process that provides not only tangible benefits for the local population, but also contributes to confidence-building between the sides. We call for the speedy implementation of the social and economic issues which have been agreed and encourage the sides to keep evolving positive dynamics and proceed towards comprehensive implementation of other initiatives from a priority package, agreed at the beginning of the year.

Ukraine welcomes the constructive engagement and political will in the “5+2” format that have produced tangible results in the negotiations in a long time. In this regard we commend the tireless efforts of the Austrian Chairmanship, in particular Chairperson‐in‐Office Special Representative, Ambassador Wolf-Dietrich Heim and his able team, focused on reinvigorating the Transdniestrian settlement process. We hope that the next round of “5+2” negotiations will be marked by meaningful progress on resolution not only of social and economic issues, but also of key political settlement issues in the so-called "third basket".

I wish to reiterate that Ukraine, as a state-guarantor and mediator in the negotiation process, will continue to take efforts to intensify result-oriented negotiations in the “5+2” format and promote implementation of practical steps aimed at a peaceful and comprehensive resolution of the Transdniestrian conflict with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova with a special status for Transdniestria within Moldova.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.