MOLDOVAN PROVINCE AUTHORITIES READY TO RESUME TALKS ON CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

TIRASPOL, September 26 (RIA Novosti) - The leadership of the self-proclaimed Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic (a territory of the Dniester's left bank with the capital in Tiraspol with mostly polyethnic Russian-speaking population that separated from Moldova in early 1990s) spoke with the initiative to resume talks on the settlement of the Transdniestrian problem. This statement was made yesterday by head of the self-proclaimed republic's department on foreign relations Valery Litskai after a meeting with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large, Vladimir Ogryzko.

In Mr. Litskai's words, the session of the permanent conference on the settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict in the five-sided format (Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, Moldova and Transdniestria) will probably take place soon in Kiev.

"Ukrainian Foreign Ministry representatives are working on this issue both with the Moldovan side and us," he said.

Earlier talks on the Transdniestrian problem were held monthly in Chisinau and Tiraspol. However, after in July the Transdniestrian authorities closed four schools where the teaching was conducted in Moldovan with the use of Latin graphics, the Moldovan side suspended its participation in the negotiations. Tiraspol authorities prefer to call the Moldovan language "Romanian" (actually it is practically one and the same language), considering it a "foreign" language and on this basis demand re-registration of Moldovan schools on the territory of the rebellious province as "foreign."

Until now, despite calls of the intermediaries (Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE), sessions of the permanent conference have not resumed.