04/04/2012 President
Strasbourg, 04.04.2012 – "It is totally unacceptable that in the 21st century so-called frozen conflicts can still cause terrible human tragedies," said Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), following his meeting today with the family of Vadim Pisar, a citizen of the Republic of Moldova killed on 1 January 2012 when crossing a checkpoint on the boundary with the Transnistrian region.
"This awful misunderstanding shows the potentially lethal consequences of the mere existence of this type of conflict, which is a throwback to the past. After my talks with the highest authorities of the Republic of the Moldova and the leaders of Transnistria, I am convinced that ,PACE could step up its contribution to resolving the conflict in Transnistria. The election of Mr Shevchuk and the resuming of negotiations within the 5+2 framework are creating the right conditions for real progress," said Mr Mignon.
He believes that PACE could help to reinforce the climate of trust by using the tools of parliamentary democracy, for example to restore dialogue between the members of the Moldovan Parliament and the members of Transnistria's Supreme Soviet.
"I hope that after prior consultation with the competent bodies of the Assembly and with our colleagues in the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, we will be able to swiftly put forward concrete proposals for launching that dialogue," concluded the PACE President.
Mr Mignon met Mr Shevchuk, leader of Transnistria, Mr Kaminsky, leader of the Supreme Soviet, and representatives of NGOs on 4 April in Tiraspol.