After four months of deadlock and two failed attempts to resume dialogue, the negotiators from Chisinau and Tiraspol met on Tuesday, April 8, in Tighina. The last attempt occurred on April 3, as the Tiraspol delegation refused to travel to Chisinau in both cases, according to Zona de Securitate.
The OSCE Mission in Bender/Tighina hosted the discussions, with participation from Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian, Tiraspol’s political representative Vitali Ignatiev, OSCE representative Thomas Lenk, and the Head of the OSCE Mission in Moldova, Kelly Keiderling. Although the meeting included elements of a 1+1 format, the official statements did not explicitly reference this format.
According to the Bureau for Reintegration Policies, Vice Prime Minister Serebrian emphasized the “urgent need to resolve longstanding issues concerning the protection of human rights in the Transnistrian region—particularly by ensuring citizens’ freedom of movement, removing restrictions on journalists, and dismantling unauthorized checkpoints in the Security Zone.”
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The parties also discussed transferring the building at 14 Gagarin Street in Rabnita to the Ministry of Education and Research for use by the “Evrika” Theoretical High School. Oleg Serebrian reiterated that Chisinau expects written guarantees and confirmation of the building transfer from Tiraspol.
Regarding Tiraspol’s proposal last year for a potential joint declaration on peaceful conflict resolution, Chisinau reaffirmed that the parameters for any settlement must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova.
Chisinau also responded to Tiraspol’s accusations about alleged obstacles stemming from the criminalization of separatism, stating that no legal barriers currently prevent participation in meetings held at the OSCE headquarters in Chisinau. Chisinau once again highlighted the importance of rotating meeting locations among Chisinau, Tighina, and Tiraspol.
The meeting happened against a visit to Moldova by Thomas Lenk, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian settlement process. He held separate meetings on April 7 in Chisinau with Deputy Prime Minister Serebrian and on April 8 in Tiraspol with the separatist leader Vadim Krasnoselski and Vitali Ignatiev ahead of the discussions in Tighina.
The Tiraspol delegation last came to Chisinau for talks in December 2022. Over the past two years, the sides have held all 1+1 format meetings in the Transnistrian region.