David Kramer, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said that progress in pulling Russian troops from Transnistria according to Moscow's pledge at the Istanbul OSCE summit in 1999, might lead to solving the conflict between Chisinau and Tiraspol. In an interview with RFE, David Kramer said on August 3 that Washington called for the resumption of five-party talks on the future of Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester, the Russian troops' pull-out from the region and the deployment of an international peace force. Kramer added that the United States insisted upon safeguarding Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity and asked for the implementation of democratic reforms in the whole region.
