Moldova and its rebel Dnestr region agreed at resumed talks on Friday to send a fact-finding mission to the breakaway area to examine the prospects for a free election. Moldova and Dnestr, run by hardline Slav separatists for 15 years, reached the deal at two days of talks. All meetings had been halted for more than a year, Reuters reported. Ukraine, Moldova's eastern neighbour, has promoted a peace plan based on holding a free, fair election. But the Russian-speaking, self-styled Dnestr Republic, which enjoys no international recognition, plans a parliamentary poll of its own in December almost certain to be shunned by the international community. The head of the Moldovan mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the main mediator, welcomed the resumed talks, while admitting results were limited. "We agreed on sending an assessment team to prepare for free elections on the left bank of the Dnestr," William Hill told a news conference in Tiraspol, Dnestr's "capital". "Despite the modest outcome of these talks, the very fact that they were revived after a 15-month break is positive." The talks featured for the first time participants from the United States and European Union, joining longstanding negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE. "We have been very supportive of the Ukrainian plan," said Steven Mann, a senior adviser for Eurasia at the U.S. State Department.
