Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin told journalists that he and Igor Smirnov, the leader of the Transdniester Republic, could meet on December 24. Voronin was present at the opening of a repaired road that connects Moldovan villages on the left bank of the Dniester River with the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, reported Itar-Tass.
Voronin and Smirnov have tried to meet twice this month - first on December the 11th and then on December the 17th. Both meetings were postponed first by Moldova and later the Transdniester Republic. Now, Chisinau and Tiraspol are trying to agree on a new date.
Negotiations on the Transdniester settlement have been held in the "five plus two" format in recent years (Moldova, the Transdniester Republic, the OSCE, Russia, Ukraine as well as monitors from the United States and the European Union). They broke off late in February 2006. The dialogue resumed only two years later thanks to Russia's efforts.
On April 11, 2008 Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and the leader of the Transdniester Republic Igor Smirnov met for the first time after a seven-year break. They agreed to resume regular contacts with an aim to strengthen confidence-building measures between the two banks of the Dniester River and resume negotiations.
However, Voronin and Smirnov have never met ever since. No progress has been noticed in the work of groups set up on their orders to develop confidence-building measures in the social and economic sphere.
