The Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vitaly Ignatiev and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden Anna Lieberg.
Welcoming the guest, the Pridnestrovian Foreign Minister expressed gratitude to the efforts of the Swedish OSCE Chairmanship in terms of Moldovan-Pridnestrovian relations settlement. “We share the priorities set by the Chairmanship, including human rights issues because the entire negotiation process is devoted to issues that are directly related to human rights,” the diplomat said.
During the conversation, Vitaly Ignatiev noted the continuing degradation of the dialogue between Pridnestrovie and Moldova and noted that there is a steadily negative dynamics within all its areas. The Head of the Ministry informed the Swedish diplomat about restrictive measures implemented by the RM in relation to the PMR and expressed as well concern as to the possible introduction of the so-called "Second Phase" of the Joint Customs and Border Control at the Kuchurgany checkpoint, and as to the announced threat to ban the entrance to Ukraine for vehicles with Pridnestrovian license plates starting with September 1.
The Minister made a special emphasis on problems within the Freedom of Movement for Pridnestrovian citizens and reported that there renewed the practice of representatives of the PMR authorities’ detention at the airport of Chisinau, lengthy documents checking and interrogations. According to him, the measures of the Moldovan side violate the existing agreements adopted with the active involvement of the Head of the OSCE Mission in 2019.
Along with, a discussion was held on the prospects for intensifying the negotiation process at all levels this year. In this context, the Head of the Foreign Ministry spoke in favor of a wide international expertise involvement within urgent problems settling in parties’ relations, taking into account the Swedish OSCE Chairmanship’s capabilities and with an emphasis on protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the Pridnestrovian population.
During the meeting, special attention was paid to aspects related to Pridnestrovian vehicles’ participation in international road traffic, including the problem of driver's licenses and limited functionality of the Vehicle Registration Offices. The topic of the Moldovan side's failure to fulfill its obligations in the field of telecommunication was as well touched upon and the problem of criminal cases against PMR’s officials got discussed, including the egregious case of the former Pridnestrovian policeman A. Samoniy who was illegally convicted in the Republic of Moldova.
Ending the conversation, diplomats agreed to continue working contacts and expressed hope for a constructive and productive meetings character during the upcoming OSCE CiO Thomas Mayr-Harting’s visit on May 24, and during the early June visit of delegation’s mediators and observers representatives in the negotiation process in the format of the "Permanent Meeting ...".
