As delivered by Counselor for Public Affairs Christopher Midura
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
November 15, 2012
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The United States welcomes you, Mr. Burkholder, to the Permanent Council and we thank you for your presentation to this body.
We commend the invaluable work of the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine, or EUBAM, and welcome the extension of its mandate to November 30, 2015. We strongly support EUBAM’s continued provision of technical advice and capacity building to both countries in areas ranging from integrated border management and legislative reform to the fights against transnational crime and corruption. The EU’s engagement has contributed to improvements in the effectiveness of border monitoring. And it has contributed to confidence-building initiatives in the Transnistria conflict settlement process through technical proposals that foster economic cooperation between Chisinau and Tiraspol.
In closing, I wish to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Moldova, and a comprehensive settlement that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova and provides for special status for Transnistria.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
