TIRASPOL, January 29 (RIA Novosti, Vladimir Sandutsa) -- The next meeting on the problem of Transdnestr, a self-proclaimed republic in Moldova, with the participation of Russia, the EU and the United States will be held on February 27-28, Transdnestr foreign minister said Sunday.
"We will hold another meeting on February 27 and the situation on the border will be on the agenda again," Valery Litskai said, referring to a new customs regime on the border between Transdnestr and Ukraine.
The talks would consist of two stages, first in Chisinau (the capital of Moldova) on February 27, and then in Tiraspol (the capital of Transdnestr) on February 28, and involve the same delegations.
The Transdnestr armed conflict broke out in March 1992 when Moldova declared independence. Following that, the Transdnestr region, which has a predominantly ethnic Russian population, proclaimed itself the Transdnestr Moldovan Republic. According to official information, the unrecognized republic lost more than 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.
Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin approved a law outlining the main conditions of Transdnestr's legal status July 29, 2005. The law established Transdnestr as an autonomous region of Moldova, with its powers fixed in the Moldovan constitution and laws.
Russia sharply criticized the law at the time, saying it was a unilateral move on the part of Moldova, and that the country was trying to impose its authority on the republic.
