Thank you, Madame Chairperson.

Like Head of Mission Hill, the United States is deeply concerned about the deadlock in the ongoing political negotiations and the absence of progress in Istanbul commitment implementation with respect to Moldova.

We, too, are concerned and disappointed by the failure of the Baden talks to materialize and by the failure of those with influence on Smirnov to use it to bring the Transnistrians to the table. We concur with Head of Mission Hill's conclusion that the excuses provided by the Transnistrians for not attending are no more than a smokescreen.

As we have stated before, we hope that the Russian and Ukrainian mediators -- and all other OSCE states -- will take the necessary steps to ensure the Transnistrians reconsider their decision. If they continue to stymie all efforts to achieve meaningful progress, we believe that a more robust, coordinated international program of incentives and sanctions must be given serious consideration, and we believe the time to prepare for these steps is now.

It is just under a year since our heads of state met, agreed to, and signed written commitments at Istanbul on the withdrawal of Russian arms and troops from Moldova. Sadly, there is no progress on those commitments. The credibility of the heads of government that must fulfill these commitments will be on the line as we evaluate and assess fulfillment of them during the forthcoming ministerial.

We are counting on the Russian Federation to make visible, concrete progress regarding its unconditional obligation to withdraw its military forces and equipment from Moldova, and to facilitate the prompt visit of an OSCE assessment team lead by French General Aussedat.

We look forward to real action to make possible the full, complete, and unconditional fulfillment of the commitments made at Istanbul. There can be no question of making fulfillment of a solemn Russian commitment conditional on decisions made by Transnistrians.

We continue to await a clear, specific, and usable schedule for the withdrawal of Russian equipment and forces consistent with the Istanbul deadlines. We expect this schedule to set clear, near-term start dates and timelines for the withdrawal, to provide detailed information on all of the equipment and munitions to be withdrawn or destroyed, and to avoid seeking to undermine the Istanbul commitments by purporting to attach any new conditions.

We have welcomed Russian plans to host a meeting of experts in Moscow next week, which we hope will finalize agreement on the use of the OSCE voluntary fund for the withdrawal and destruction of arms. We are concerned by indications that this meeting may be delayed, and stress the absolute need for it to be scheduled, take place, and to finalize agreement.

We support Head of Mission Hill's call for significant, sustained political attention to this issue by both the Chairman and all of us in the OSCE community.

Thank you.