Peace Deal Between Moldova, Transnistria Only Way to Solve Conflict, Foreign Ministry Says

TIRASPOL (Sputnik) - A peace deal between Moldova and the breakaway region of Transnistria is the only way to solve the long-standing conflict, Transnistrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vitaly Ignatiev said on Friday.

 "In 30 years, Moldova, in fact, has failed to use any of the numerous opportunities to find a reasonable compromise that takes into account the needs of both peoples and the interests of international partners and has exhausted all means trying to convince Transnistria," Ignatiev said at a meeting, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Foreign Ministry.

The minister stated that a peace deal between Chisinau and Tiraspol would be "the only right decision."

The "5+2" negotiations on Transnistrian settlement have been suspended since 2019. Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE act as mediators in the talks; the European Union and the United States are observers. The previous round of negotiations took place in Bratislava in October 2019,  however, no final document was agreed upon and signed.

Transnistria, where 60 percent of residents are Russians and Ukrainians, sought secession from Moldova even before the collapse of the Soviet Union, fearing that Moldova, guided by nationalism, would join Romania. In 1992, after a failed attempt by the Moldovan authorities to solve the problem by force, Transnistria became virtually a territory outside the control of Chisinau.