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The first round of official 5+2 talks on the Transnistrian settlement was held this week in Vilnius (Lithuania) after the decision to resume talks was made in September in Moscow (Russia). It was an event of major importance given that for about six years there had been no negotiations.

Certainly the credit for the resumption of negotiations cannot be given to one person only. This was rather the result of joint efforts. However the part played by Audronius Ažubalis was critical. In Transnistrian settlement the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship was a successful one. In fact, this is the greatest achievement after the OSCE summit in Istanbul in 1999, when the decision was made that Russia should withdraw its weapons and troops from the Republic of Moldova.

This year, credit for at least three great achievements should be given to the OSCE Chairmanship, and personally to Audronius Ažubalis: the conference in Germany, where Vlad Filat met Igor Smirnov; the 5+2 meeting in Moscow in September and the meeting in Vilnius. These events of major importance and the constant support provided to Chisinau and Tiraspol to establish an ongoing dialogue and ensure an efficient framework for dialogue between the mediators and observers in the negotiation process were the ingredients of the outcome of this week.

Certainly there is a long way to go before we can speak of a settled conflict, the more so as critical political events are expected to follow in Tiraspol and Moscow and, possibly, in the Republic of Moldova, that might affect the negotiations. What the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship in general and Audronius Ažubalis personnaly managed to do is a big step forward, a cornerstone for a successful process on which depends the integrity and the sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova and also stability in this part of Europe.

TRIBUNA reports that Audronius Ažubalis was born on January 17, 1958 in Vilnius (Lithuania). He went to the ”Antanas Vienuolis” school in his home town, and then to the University in Vilnius and World Press Institute at Macalester College, USA. He was twice a Member of Parliament in the Lithuanian Seim, and since February 2010 he has been minister of foreign affairs of Lithuania.

The article first appeared in tribuna.md