Today the PMR's MFA hosted a meeting between Deputy Chairperson of the Government of the PMR for International Cooperation, Minister for Foreign Affairs Nina Shtanski and the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation comprised of Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Gubarev and Deputy Director of the Second CIS Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Vitaly Tryapitsyn.
During the meeting the sides exchanged views on the current situation in the negotiation process between Pridnestrovie and Moldova, actual problems of the relationship of the negotiating parties, as well as the current socio-economic situation in Pridnestrovie caused by the negative impact of artificial restrictions on the Pridnestrovian economy by Moldova and Ukraine.
Nina Shtanski noted that Russia is still actively involved in the process of normalization of the Pridnestrovian-Moldovan relations and remains a consistent, powerful and active guarantor what is especially important in the context of the current situation. “The relations between Pridnestrovie and Moldova are burdened by a broad range of rather complex intricacies, such as all kinds of subtle restrictions, sanctions and blockades. The coordinated actions of Ukraine and Moldova suffocate our economy even more, and today these difficulties affect not only the dialogue between Pridnestrovie and Moldova, but also the social and political climate of Pridnestrovie. We hope that the “diplomatic” stabilization in Moldova, the formation of a new negotiating team, and the work that is planned to be continued tomorrow with our new counterparts in Kishinev, will allow us to find positive impulses for the stabilization of the situation,” – stressed the diplomat.
According to Nina Shtanski, Pridnestrovie is open to dialogue and sees no alternative to him. “We believe that the negotiation process is not only our meetings in the “5 + 2”, and in this context your visit and meetings with representatives and leadership of the parties are important to determine the next steps,” - said the minister. The Foreign Minister also noted that Pridnestrovie previously announced the initiative on holding a special discussion of the participants of the “Permanent Conference” related to the attitude to the fundamental documents of the negotiation process and the execution of the previously reached agreements. “We need to perform a revision of all documents of the negotiation process and specification of guarantee mechanisms for their implementation - unfortunately, most of the reached agreements are not executed,” – she said.
Sergei Gubarev, in his turn, highly appreciated the existing practice of regular contacts between the Pridnestrovian and Russian sides and expressed hope that the completion of the formation of the government in Moldova would play a positive role in the development of the Moldovan- Pridnestrovian dialogue.
“I am pleased that we continue our dialogue which has acquired a regular character. The formation of the government and the negotiating team of the Moldovan side in the “5 + 2” format in Moldova has ended, which, I hope, will take into account not fully though-out steps taken by the former leadership of the Republic of Moldova. I stress once again that the initiation of criminal cases concerning the partners in the negotiating process is a very original way of negotiating. Besides, the activities aimed at strengthening the economic blockade of Pridnestrovie do not improve the situation as well,” – noted the Russian diplomat.
During the communication with the media following the event the meeting participants also touched on problems of criminal cases against representatives of Pridnestrovie. In particular, commenting on the journalists' question about the prospects for the resumption of meetings in the “5+2” format, Nina Shtanski emphasized that “it is impossible to come to negotiate “for show”. “It is necessary to use groundwork at the level of expert groups, and in circumstances where criminal cases are initiated against members of law enforcement, economic and customs bodies, it is physically impossible. In the negotiations as early as in 2012, all participants in the “5 + 2” agreed that we will avoid the preconditions, act on an equal footing and in a constructive manner. Our task is to try again to build a dialogue with the Moldovan side, so that we will completely drop all kinds of sanctions and restrictions because they are contrary to the letter and spirit of the existing documents regulating the interaction in the negotiation process,” – noted the Foreign Minister.
The sides also discussed a wide range of issues, including further measures to establish inter-agency cooperation in the development of the “Rogozin-Shevchuk” Protocol.
