Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the Transnistrian settlement process

Moscow is closely tracking the Transnistrian settlement process amid the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.

Speculation on the alleged threat emanating from Transnistria are cause for concern. Tiraspol's refutations, as well as its multiple calls for strengthening peace and stability on the Dniester, are being ignored. Meanwhile, several armed provocations have taken place in Transnistria in recent months which put the region on the cusp of an open conflict.

Attempts are being made to attribute the pause in the 5+2 multilateral negotiating format to Russia's actions in Ukraine. We resolutely reject this interpretation of the situation. The problems that slowed the work of the format did not appear yesterday. Just think back to the 5+2 meeting in Bratislava in October 2019, when Moldova’s stance thwarted the signing of a protocol that could have advanced the settlement of several issues. The mounting differences in Chisinau and Tiraspol’s positions on all major issues have precluded holding a single meeting in that format since then.

The recent trip to the region by an OSCE delegation which coordinates the 5+2 format did not bring any breakthrough results, either. It only confirmed the lack of intermediary resources in the Polish OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office’s activities. One gets the impression that instead of searching for compromises on pressing settlement matters, the Polish OSCE chairmanship is increasingly slipping into the role of a film extra in this process.

Increasing the dynamics and effectiveness of the meetings between political representatives of Chisinau and Tiraspol and meetings between their joint sectoral expert groups, which are expected to provide a foundation for the negotiating process in a multilateral format is what matters in these circumstances. We look forward to seeing progress in this important area.