Michael Scanlan is an American diplomat who is the Head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Moldova. He was appointed to that position and as the OSCE mediator to the Transdniestrian settlement process in July 2014 (one source says August 2014 – August 2018). His posts immediately prior were as Director of the Office of Eastern European Affairs in Washington, D.C., and Chargé d'Affaires to the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, Belarus. According to the Security and Human Rights Monitor: The protracted conflict between Moldova and Transdniestria dates back to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when the region of Transdniestria broke away from Moldova in a brief war in 1992, claiming over 1000 lives. Despite a ceasefire brokered by Russia, the underlying political conflict was not settled. Transdniestria turned into a de facto state but has never been recognized as a sovereign and independent country by the international community.The OSCE chairs the negotiations between Moldova and Transdniestria aimed at achieving a final settlement to the conflict that affirms the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova, with a special status for Transdniestria within Moldova. Since 2005 this process, which has a three-tiered negotiating format, has been officially known as the 5+2 format, which includes Moldova and Transdniestria as the sides, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediators, and the USA and the EU as observers.