On the meeting between Nina Shtanski and Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Radojko Bogojevich

Today the PMR's MFA hosted a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister of the PMR for International Cooperation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nina Shtanski and Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Radojko Bogojevic. The meeting was also attended by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova Michael Scanlan.In her opening speech, Nina Shtanski welcomed regular contacts with the Special Representative of the OSCE CiO, noting that the role of the mediator and the potential of shuttle diplomacy are hard to overestimate in the significant worsening of relations between Moldova and Pridnestrovie. “I must admit that attempts to suffocate Pridnestrovie continue and are systemic in their nature. With my great concern I inform you that the Republic of Moldova has initiated another criminal case against a representative of Pridnestrovie, this time against the Chairman of the Supreme Court. In addition, we have already informed you about the counterproductive and simply absurd practice of the Moldovan side to review the decisions of the court instances of Pridnestrovie”, the diplomat said. According to her, in the current environment the Republic of Moldova creates the legal basis for the arrest of Pridnestrovian representatives, which, in fact, is a return to the situation of more than two decades ago and, in the opinion of the Pridnestrovian side, can lead to extremely negative consequences.During the meeting Nina Shtanski also drew attention of the Special Representative to the fact of increasing economic blockade of Pridnestrovie. “On the one hand, Moldova in addition to the existing limitations does not issue certificates for Pridnestrovian enterprises to export to Russia; on the other hand, Ukraine has been keeping all our goods on its border for a week already without any explanations. Obviously, the situation is not indicative of the willingness of our partners to have an amicable and constructive dialogue. There is no reason to talk about any compromise in such circumstances,” said the Minister. According to her, the refusal to issue phytosanitary certificates for agricultural products of Pridnestrovie without absolutely any legal basis has already led to the reduction in exports from Pridnestrovie. In the context of the continuing practice of pressure on the economy of the republic Nina Shtanski once again drew attention to the fact that according to the Memorandum of 1997 Pridnestrovie possesses an internationally enshrined right to independently carry out its foreign trade activity. “This document is not only signed, but also deposited by the OSCE and is a classic example of an international treaty”, the diplomat said in the course of talks with the media after the meeting.Nina Shtanski expressed extreme concern of the Pridnestrovian side in connection with the problems of the citizens of Pridnestrovie and Russia when crossing the border of the Republic of Moldova, including in the airport of Kishinev. Foreign Minister of the PMR informed the Special Representative of the OSCE CiO that for the last 2 months employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR and the Pridnestrovian Republican Bank, First Deputy Prime Minister of the PMR M.I. Parnas, First Deputy Minister of Finance of the PMR D.D. Nedelkov have been the subjects of unreasonable careful checking. Deputy Director of DPC RISS V.B. Kashyrin, a citizen of Pridnestrovie, was deported from Moldova. According to Nina Shtanski, the deportation of Mr. Kashyrin is considered by the Pridnestrovian side as an act of unprecedented pressure on Pridnestrovie and illustrates the failure of the Moldovan side to fulfill its obligations, as the incident is a gross violation of the Protocol Decision on aspects of the freedom of movement of the population, signed on February 27 this year in Vienna, as the mentioned citizen documented the fact of his residence in Pridnestrovie and place of work in Tiraspol.Commenting on the results of the meeting in the course of talks with journalists, Nina Shtanski noted that, unfortunately, in the current situation in relations between Pridnestrovie and Moldova there are no prerequisites for the resumption of the “5+2” meetings. According to her, it is impossible to be at the table when the “principle of equality is violated and one of the negotiating parties is considered as a criminal”. Meanwhile, according to the Pridnestrovian side, shuttle diplomacy is able not only to identify existing problems, but also will enable the Special Representative of the OSCE CiO to search for their solutions with each of the parties in those difficult conditions in which the dialogue is now. In this context, Nina Shtanski noticed that there are several issues on which the parties can move forward. Such, in particular, are the issues of telecommunications, discussed during today\'s meeting as well. “Another “phone war” can obviously be avoided without violating any international obligations, moreover, there is a relevant international experience when operators in Moldova and Ukraine faced similar problems, and were able to resolve this issue. The Pridnestrovian side proposes to take into account such an experience and today we have addressed the request to Mr. Bogojevic to transmit to our Moldovan colleagues our wish to start the direct inter-operator dialogue in order to avoid the so-called mutual “near-border mush”, the diplomat said.In his turn, Radojko Bogojevich agreed that at the moment there are almost no positive achievements in the dialogue between Pridnestrovie and Moldova; however, he confirmed his intention to assist the parties in order to come closer to solving the existing problems.In conclusion, the representative of Pridnestrovie confirmed steady readiness to continue bilateral contacts with Moldova at the level of political representatives, as well as at the level of expert groups, and to have systematic consultations with the “5+2” participants.
The next meeting between Nina Shtanski and Radojko Bogojevich will be held on October 30.