Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, the EU and the US were received by President of the PMR Yevgeny Shevchuk today
Speaking to the media, Vitaly Ignatiev stressed the importance of the visit in the context of the need to give a positive impetus to Pridnestrovie and Moldova’s dialogue, slipping over a considerable period of time due to the unconstructive approach of RM’s representatives, according to the diplomat.
In particular, Vitaly Ignatiev noted that only two meetings of representatives on political issues were held in 2016, along with it the dynamics of expert meetings (working) groups was also unsatisfactory. “The few meetings of experts that took place this year did not lead to the common groundwork, in some cases there is even no common understanding of approaches in specific areas of work,” said the acting minister.
The head of the Foreign Ministry also pointed out that for the recent time the situation in Pridnestrovie and Moldova’s relations was considerably complicated by the RM’s unilateral restrictive actions, increased “infrastructural, economic, transport, logistics pressure on Pridnestrovie”. So, Vitaly Ignatiev said that the situation in politically motivated prosecution of Pridnestrovian citizens, road transport, changes made by Moldova and Ukraine in the scheme of import cargo delivery in Pridnestrovie by railway, as well as freedom of movement of citizens of the republic remains unresolved.
According to the head of the PMR Foreign Ministry, in such circumstances the visit of the mediators and observers provided a good opportunity to “see for themselves complexity of the situation, to obtain first-hand information and to provide the necessary assistance to ensure that the dialogue is back on the normal track”. Vitaly Ignatiev also said that Pridnestrovie sent the invitation to the mediators and observers as early as on December 21, 2015.
Acting Foreign Minister also emphasized that during the meeting the Pridnestrovian side expressed again its position on the relevance of substantive, meaningful work to resolve the whole set of contradictions as soon as possible that have accumulated in relations between the parties. “It is necessary to solve the problem of pressure on Pridnestrovie, to abandon actions which block the possibility to conduct normal dialogue, weather the atmosphere of trust and nullify those small positive developments that were achieved in the past. Today on the negotiating table there should be specific documents and draft agreements, it is necessary to conduct substantive work on them and take decisions for the benefit of Pridnestrovian and Moldovan citizens,” said Vitaly Ignatiev.
He also emphasized that throughout the period of stagnation in the negotiations the Pridnestrovian side has proposed a set of drafts practical arrangements designed to address problems in the field of road and rail transport, mutual recognition of documents issued by competent bodies of the parties, to develop the mechanism to return citizens in Pridnestrovie deported from the Kishinev airport, etc. A number of similar initiatives of Pridnestrovie, according to Vitaly Ignatiev, were understood and supported by the 3+2 representatives.
As part of the communication with the media the head of the Pridnestrovian diplomacy also said that today we can speak about a certain commonality of Pridnestrovie and the mediators and observers’ approaches.
“Our expectations lie in the need for specific solutions, completion of the dialogue slippage period. Our partners have confirmed that they are not interested in “meetings for the sake of meetings”, that results are needed today. We expect that the mediators and observers will convince the Moldovan side to abandon a number of unilateral restrictive actions used against the Pridnestrovian side. Our main goal is to refuse such actions, which not only hinder the dialogue, but also adversely affect people’s lives,” stated the acting minister.
Vitaly Ignatiev stressed that the Russian side took a quite initiative position on stabilizing the situation in the negotiation process.
“In mid-March, the Russian Federation’s representative in the negotiations expressed his vision of further steps that would contribute to the normalization of dialogue and lead it to practice. These non-paper proposals were circulated and carefully studied by participants in the negotiation process. The document is comprehensive, concerns the need to develop the mechanism for guaranteeing the implementation of the achieved agreements,” the diplomat said, reminded also that today the majority of agreements in the negotiation process are not respected by the Moldovan side unilaterally.
“In addition, the Russian side's proposal contains the position on the need to reject any restrictive actions that would worsen the situation of the parties to the negotiation process. It is also about a moratorium on the initiation of politically motivated criminal cases,” said the head of the Foreign Ministry of Pridnestrovie.
According to him, the Russian Federation’s initiative was highly appreciated in Pridnestrovie, and today it should be viewed as a set of common parameters that allow to turn to the dynamic and practical substantive work in the negotiations.
Answering journalists' questions, Vitaly Ignatiev also noted that during the visit of the mediators and observers some participants voiced views on the advisability to turn to the politics and status issues in the negotiation process. According to the head of the PMR Foreign Ministry, Pridnestrovie considers such appeals untimely and very dangerous.
“I believe that any ideas on “adding politicization” in the already complex blocked process of the dialogue, through no fault of Pridnestrovie, are counterproductive. We consider it inappropriate to raise any status issues until the whole set of problems is resolved, and restrictions against one of the parties to the negotiation process are removed. Our main task is to normalize the dialogue and to move to practical decisions that would have a positive impact on people's lives. At this stage we do not see any reason to turn to the issues that have political connotation,” said Vitaly Ignatiev.
