Mr. Chairperson,

The delegation of Ukraine welcomes the signing by the Chief Negotiators from Chisinau and Tiraspol of the agreement on the mechanism for the participation of vehicles from Transdniestria in international road traffic. 

This agreement, which was the result of the intensive work at the expert level and also owed to the constructive engagement at the political level, represents an important practical step, aimed at improving daily life of the population of the Republic of Moldova, including the Transdniestrian region, and strengthening trust and confidence. It should also provide an impetus for the implementation of pending priority measures from the “package of eight”, agreed in 2017.  

We take note of the intention of the OSCE Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Franco Frattini to convene a “5+2” meeting in May and commend his active engagement. We hope that the meeting could lead to the meaningful progress on resolving not only social and economic issues, but also key political settlement issues in the so-called “third basket”.

The momentum for building up trust and confidence would be significantly strengthened by transformation of the current peacekeeping operation into a civilian one and by withdrawal of the remaining forces of the Russian army from Moldova. Ukraine stands ready to provide its territory for an unhindered and safe withdrawal of Russian troops and ammunition from the region of Transdniestria as soon as Russia demonstrates readiness to implement its long-standing commitment.

I wish to reiterate that Ukraine, as a state-guarantor and mediator in the negotiation process, will continue to take efforts to intensify pragmatic and outcome-based negotiations in the “5+2” format and promote implementation of practical steps aimed at a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders with a special status for Transdniestria within Moldova.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.