Today, the Kishinev office of the OSCE Mission to Moldova hosted a regular meeting of representatives on political issues of Pridnestrovie and Moldova Nina Shtanski and Yevgeny Karpov. During the meeting the parties continued to discuss the existing problems of bilateral interaction. Such as prosecution of PMR's public officials, initiatives "On combating separatism and extremism", being under consideration in the Parliament of Moldova, as well as problems in the use of radio spectrum. The diplomats also exchanged views on the next round of negotiations in the "5 +2" format.
During the meeting, Nina Shtanski reiterated her concern at the continuation of building criminal cases against members of the PMR's public authorities, among which are representatives of the republic\'s leadership, and members of expert groups. According to her, such actions have a significant negative impact on the negotiation process. "We believe that talking with a partner in the language of threats and criminal prosecution is not a diplomatic approach. Negotiations in the “5+2” format are, above all, diplomatic interactions, "- said Nina Shtanski. Pridnestrovian diplomat expressed her willingness to work on implementation of provisions of the protocol, signed by the political representatives on September 16, 2013, as the part of step-by-step resolution of problems associated with the criminal prosecution of parties' officials. With this view the Pridnestrovian side proposed to hold a meeting of representatives on political issues with the participation of specialists from competent authorities.
Another cause for Pridnestrovian concern is Moldovan initiative on the introduction of "separatism" and "extremism" concepts and relevant criminal penalties into the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova. The representative on political issues of the Republic of Moldova reported that those issues would be discussed at the autumn session of the Parliament, after the recess, but within his knowledge, these initiatives are not aimed against the negotiation process. Nina Shtanski urged the Moldovan authorities to take the necessary measures, which would exclude the application of these draft laws to the inhabitants of Pridnestrovie and guarantee relevant exceptions included in the legal act.
A broad discussion at the meeting was dedicated to the issue of ensuring freedom of movement. The Moldovan representative expressed interest in the ongoing changes in Pridnestrovian legal framework regulating the issues of border crossing. Nina Shtanski informed the Moldovan colleague that the ongoing modernization of checkpoints on the Pridnestrovian border aims to promote and facilitate cross-border movements of foreign citizens. So, according to her, in the near future there will be no need for foreign persons to fill in migration cards, while entering the republic, and the process of execution of the relevant documents will take just a few minutes. At the same time, she offered to send comprehensive information material to the representative on political issues of Moldova, explaining the order of border crossing, as well as the rules of residence and temporary registration of foreign citizens on the territory of Pridnestrovie.
In the context of freedom of movement the participants of the meeting focused on issues relating to Moldovan border crossing by citizens of Pridnestrovie with passports of the Russian Federation and Ukraine. As Nina Shtanski reported, the MFA has recently received information that Pridnestrovian residents are still subjects to administrative proceedings in Moldova, despite previous agreements. In this regard, Nina Shtanski urged the Moldovan authorities to ensure proper execution of provisions of the last year agreement, namely relevant protocol resolution, guaranteeing deliverance from administrative responsibilities to those Pridnestrovian residents, which have the passports of other countries and have not issued a residence permit in the Republic of Moldova.
Another pressing issue, discussed at the meeting, was the sale of radio frequencies in the 800 MHz range to Moldovan communications provider, which are used in Pridnestrovie to provide mobile telephony, Internet access and television broadcasting. "In our opinion, such measures are quite dangerous. They can cause serious deterioration of the situation of Pridnestrovians. According to experts, such actions may block communication in Pridnestrovie, "- said the Minister at a briefing for the media. She also reminded that this was not the first case of unilateral measures from the RM, which contributed to the escalation of new problems in this area, and called for the organization of an early dialogue on the issue at the level of experts. The Minister requested the representatives of "5 + 2" participants to assist in the analysis and resolution of the situation.
A number of important issues stayed beyond the scope of today\'s discussion, but the parties agreed to continue the dialogue at the beginning of September this year. The meeting is agreed to be hold on September, 4-5.
