The head of the Pridnestrovian diplomacy in an interview with Pervy Pridnestrovsky TV Channel expressed hope for a speedy resolution of the situation in the field of freedom of movement of citizens of the PMR and urged people not to succumb to the attempts of psychological pressure and provocations by members of the Border Police of the Republic of Moldova.
Earlier, the press service of the MFA of the PMR made comments in connection with numerous appeals of citizens, indicating the resumption of administrative pressure put by authorities of the Republic of Moldova on the residents of Pridnestrovie, crossing the state border of the RM, including at the Kishinev airport.
“Today, representatives of the Republic of Moldova once again insist on the need to obtain documents, in particular, the residence permit, which is contrary to the agreements reached. Our residents are threatened by withdrawing from a flight, creating “additional problems”, they are required to pay a fine, which, in our opinion, does not correspond to any legal grounds of the negotiation process, nor the legislation of the Republic of Moldova,” - said the head of the Pridnestrovian diplomacy speaking to the reporter of the Pervy Pridnestrovsky TV Channel.
Vitaly Ignatiev also said that the issue of freedom of movement is traditionally one of the most topical issues of bilateral dialogue between Pridnestrovie and Moldova. “As you know, the Moldovan side has been using various tools and levers of pressure on Pridnestrovie for a long time, including restrictions on freedom of movement of citizens, on our international contacts and cooperation in scientific, expert line,” - said the foreign minister.
Vitaly Ignatiev expressed concern about the visible activation and resumption of restrictive actions, applied until 2014 by Moldovan authorities. “At that time as a result of the political dialogue we managed to come to an understanding of the need to resolve that problem. The Moldovan side accepted certain obligations in the framework of negotiation process, appropriate changes were made to the Code of Administrative Violations of the Republic of Moldova, and any measures to limit and legal grounds for the restriction were lifted,”- said acting minister.
“The Pridnestrovian diplomacy possesses formal appeals of the Moldovan side to the participants of the “5+2” format. In addition, to validate the rejection of any restrictive measures the Protocol Decision on certain aspects of freedom of movement of people was signed in February 2014. This document also regulates the need for non-use of any kind of restrictive actions against Pridnestrovians,”- said Vitaly Ignatiev.
During the interview Vitaly Ignatiev noted that the Pridnestrovian side already sent the appropriate appeals to the participants of the format “5+2”, as well as to the Moldovan side with the requirement to return to the faithful observance of commitments. “We have also officially appealed to the people of Pridnestrovie not to succumb to provocations, attempts of psychological pressure, any indoctrination, since all these actions are absolutely illegitimate, violate the universal conventions on human rights, freedom of movement and are not legitimate,”- said the diplomat.
“The Pridnestrovian diplomacy is making all necessary efforts to normalize the situation. We hope that the newly appointed political representative of the Republic of Moldova will pay attention to this problem and take the necessary steps in order to negate any of its negative effects,” - concluded Vitaly Ignatiev.
