The PMR President’s office hosted a meeting between Head of the Pridnestrovian State Vadim Krasnoselsky and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov. PMR Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev took part in the discussion.
Welcoming the guest, Vadim Krasnoselsky stressed the importance of maintaining contacts, especially in such difficult times. The President noted that the challenges of the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath, have been replaced by new challenges of geopolitical origin, which have a serious negative impact on the situation in Pridnestrovie. Despite all the difficulties, Pridnestrovie remains committed to the principles of peace and good neighborliness, building exclusively peaceful dialogue, Vadim Krasnoselsky said, stressing that in various meetings he has been encouraging international partners to adhere to this position.
“I try to make sure that we are heard, I try to remove all the possible speculations about Pridnestrovie that appear online, in various media, in statements of certain officials, and to convince that Pridnestrovie is not an aggressor, that we have no plans to attack our neighbors – neither Ukraine, nor Moldova. But if there is aggression against Pridnestrovie, naturally, the Pridnestrovian people will stand up to defend their homeland,” stressed the PMR President.
Vadim Krasnoselsky recalled a dozen terrorist and provocative acts, noting that the republic's law enforcement system is monitoring the situation. The crimes are being investigated. Criminal cases have been opened. The mastermind and the perpetrators of one of them have been identified. The other cases are under investigation. Vadim Krasnoselsky pointed out the interconnection of all these attacks.
The interlocutors separately focused on the cooperation between Pridnestrovie and Russian. They talked about disrupted export-import logistics and the inaccessibility of markets. Special attention was paid to the situation of hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens and compatriots living in the Republic. “I am very concerned about the humanitarian interaction between Pridnestrovie and the Russian Federation, specifically about obtaining Russian citizenship and the renewal of existing documents. To date, the work of the consular office is catastrophic. Our citizens with Russian passports are very dissatisfied with the work of the consular office in Tiraspol. From 17 March 2020 to 31 May 2021, due to the pandemic, the consular office practically did not work. Of course, we could blame the pandemic, but, in general, the state authorities and administration in Pridnestrovie functioned at that time. The pandemic had no effect on the interaction of citizens with the state institutions of our republic. Then, for some unknown reason, the staff at the consular office was downsized. This has led to the fact that today more than 20,000 of our citizens, who have Russian passports, cannot receive or replace their documents,” – said Vadim Krasnoselsky. He emphasized the inefficiency of the citizen registration mechanism, noting that only the electronic reception of applications operates, and the system often fails, and the resource is increasingly inaccessible to users. The head of the Pridnestrovian state recalled difficult life situations that turned out to be hopeless for Pridnestrovian Russians because of problems with documents, stressing that there is a violation of citizens’ rights. Another aspect pointed out by Vadim Krasnoselsky is the imposition of penalties for untimely renewal of documents in the amount of 1170 lei. The fact that citizens have become hostages of circumstances and there is no fault of their own is not taken into account, said Vadim Krasnoselsky. He recalled his appeal to top officials of the Russian Federation on this issue, as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s assurance that the issue will be resolved shortly. The head of the state also mentioned the recently prepared appeal of the members of the Consultative Assembly of the first Pridnestrovian deputies, addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vadim Krasnoselsky forwarded the document to the addressee through the ambassador.
During his conversation with the Russian diplomat, the PMR President also noted that the international community is actively discussing the news that Russia has announced the introduction of a simplified procedure for granting Russian citizenship to residents of several foreign territories.
“What about us? Why is Pridnestrovie treated this way? This is not right. We support the Russian culture, the Russian world, we harmonize with the Russian Federation,” – stressed Vadim Krasnoselsky, asking to return to the solution of existing problems, to intensify work in this regard, to fulfill the promises made to Pridnestrovie.
Oleg Vasnetsov, in turn, spoke about the work carried out by the embassy. The diplomat stressed the importance of exchanging opinions and openly discussing the current agenda. The Russian diplomat informed about the planned visit of Ambassador-at-Large Vitaly Tryapitsyn next week. The official is expected to visit Tiraspol on July 19.
