We compliment Moldova on its recent elections, and we pledge our ongoing support to Moldova’s European integration.
As delivered by Chargé d’Affaires Katherine Brucker
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
November 21, 2024
Ambassador Keiderling, dear Kelly, welcome back to the Permanent Council and thank you for your comprehensive report. It’s great to hear about successes in building confidence between the sides.
Recently, the people of Moldova passed a referendum affirming Moldova’s chosen path towards EU accession and re-elected their president in an electoral process that ODIHR assessed as “overwhelmingly positive.” Moldovans’ message was clear: their European aspirations will not be thwarted and their democratic processes, including elections, will withstand the Kremlin’s malign interference campaign and Russia’s brutal war against neighboring Ukraine. We compliment Moldova on its recent elections, and we pledge our ongoing support to Moldova’s European integration.
The United States also favors a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Transnistria conflict that respects Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and that fully guarantees the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people in Moldova. Even while the formal 5+2 process is on hold, the OSCE Mission plays a valuable role facilitating confidence building measures and dialogue between the sides.
On that note, Madam Chair, we condemn Russia’s continued refusal to fulfill its own 1999 Istanbul Summit pledge to withdraw its troops and ammunition from Moldova’s sovereign territory. The ongoing stationing of Russian troops without Moldova’s consent is a breach of international law.
Ambassador Keiderling, your Mission’s good work across many spheres contributes greatly to increasing the security, prosperity, and human rights of the people on both banks of the Nistru/Dniester River. I would like to highlight the Mission’s successful advocacy for the release by de facto authorities in Transnistria of Victor Pleshcanov. We further call upon the de facto authorities to release all unjustly detained political prisoners, including Mihail Emurachi. We value the Mission’s outreach to the people in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia and look forward to the results of the assessments of the anti-trafficking commissions in Gagauzia and around the country.
Ambassador Keiderling, we recognize the burden that six-month mandates place on the Mission and its ability to conduct its work efficiently. We support a full-year extension when the Permanent Council considers this matter in December. Unfortunately, this Mission – like all other field missions, the Secretariat, and the independent institutions – faces significant operational difficulties due to severe financial constraints. The inability of participating States to adopt a unified budget hinders all field missions’ abilities to effectively carry out their mandates. We should immediately adopt both the 2024 and 2025 Unified Budgets and put the organization on stable footing.
The United States thanks you, Ambassador, and your team, for your dedicated efforts to support Moldova under very difficult conditions.
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