CHISINAU, September 27 (RIA Novosti, Vladimir Novosadyuk) - The United States and the European Union will join talks on the resolution of the Transdnestr conflict in late October, a Moldovan official said Tuesday.
A relevant agreement was reached in Odessa (Ukraine) during consultations on Transdnestr, a self-proclaimed republic in Moldova, head of the Moldovan delegation Vasily Shova said.
He also said the next round of talks would be held in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau and the Transdnestr capital of Tirsapol on October 27-28. The talks will involve the conflicting sides, mediators (Russia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Ukraine), and observers (the EU and U.S.).
"All the sides who took part in the Odessa consultations approved the involvement of new participants in the talks," Shova said, adding that this decision was the first step toward making the EU and U.S. full-fledged mediators.
The Transdnestr armed conflict broke out in March 1992 when Moldova declared independence. Following that, the Transdnestr region, with its predominantly Russian population, proclaimed itself the Transdnestr Moldovan Republic. According to official information, the Transdnestr Republic lost over 800 people during the conflict. The Russian military intervened at the Moldovan president's request and separated the two sides. In July 1992, the Russian and Moldovan presidents signed a ceasefire agreement in the presence of the Transdnestr leader.
