Today, a regular meeting of political representatives from Pridnestrovie and the Republic of Moldova was held at the office of the OSCE Mission in Tiraspol, with the participation of expert (working) groups on transport and road development.
The meeting continued the discussion of a wide range of problems resulting from a unilateral unjustified decision banning entry into Ukraine of vehicles with Pridnestrovian plates.
The impossibility of passenger and small-sized cargo transportations through the territory of Ukraine after September 1 was given a particular consideration. The Pridnestrovian side proposed concrete realistic options for the issue to be resolved - in particular, to allow commercial vehicles to be registered in the VROs. Along with this, the initiative was repeatedly voiced to jointly address Ukraine with a request to suspend the ban while the dialogue in underway.
However, the proposals of the Pridnestrovian side were dismissed by the political representative from the Republic of Moldova, without offering any alternative ways to resolve the crisis. No substantive arguments followed that would explain the impossibility of registering commercial vehicles in the VROs or sending a joint appeal to Ukrainian mediators.
The driving licenses issue was also touched upon during the meeting. In particular, the Pridnestrovian representatives underscored the unreasonable nature of the Moldovan Border Police requirements to have a Moldovan driving license when crossing the state border of the Republic of Moldova. It was specified that this approach fundamentally contradicts the provisions of the 2018 Protocol Decision.
The problem of the Pridnestrovian ambulances registration in the VROs also remained unresolved.
Additionally, on the initiative of Pridnestrovie, individual cases of obstructing the return to the PMR of citizens moving in the Pridnestrovian-plated vehicles in transit through Ukraine were examined.
Technicalities and the key issue of cargo and passenger transportation are expected to be further discussed this week at the level of field expert (working) groups.
