Pridnestrovian President Vadim Krasnoselsky met with Russian diplomats at the site of the Pridnestrovian presidential administration. The Russian MFA’s delegation was headed by Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian MFA Vitaly Tryapitsyn. He was accompanied by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov, Co-Chairman of the Joint Control Commission from the Russian Federation Alexander Andreev and assistant of Vitaly Tryapitsyn Arif Gadzhiev. Pridnestrovian Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev took part in the working discussion.
Vadim Krasnoselsky stressed the importance of the meeting, noting that 220 thousand Russian citizens living in Pridnestrovie and hundreds of thousands of compatriots are waiting for the solution of urgent issues. “The longer Pridnestrovie is isolated, the more difficult the situation around Pridnestrovie is, the more people want to feel close to Russia,” Vadim Krasnoselsky said. The president spoke about various areas and forms of Pridnestrovian-Russian cooperation, and focused on the difficulties of economic cooperation escalated by the current geopolitical realities.
The Head of the Pridnestrovian state referred to the problems of consular services for Pridnestrovians with Russian citizenship as one of the most important issues to be urgently solved. Vadim Krasnoselsky outlined the essence of the problem, recalled the events that led to the current state of affairs, and spoke about the consequences of the protracted downtime of the Tiraspol Consular Service Office and the reduction of its staff. “Since the consular office resumed work after the pandemic, only one consul and three employees perform technical operations,” said Vadim Krasnoselsky. The PMR President expressed his gratitude in absentia to the specialist who conducts the reception at the Consular Office, calling his workload excessive. The Head of the State reminded about thousands of citizens in line to renew their expired Russian passports, noting that the Pridnestrovian side has repeatedly expressed its readiness to provide the missing personnel at the Consular Office. There is a possibility to involve both Pridnestrovian Russians and Russian citizens temporarily residing in Pridnestrovie, for example, members of the families of Russian military personnel serving in the peacekeeping forces on the Dniester.
The PMR President elaborated on the challenges encountered by people who have been held hostage by the situation. In addition to restrictions on leaving the republic, obtaining Russian pensions has proved to be a problem. The flow of appeals from citizens to the Pridnestrovian leadership is growing, along with the number of applications rejected by the Consular Office. Vadim Krasnoselsky considers the discontent of the people reasonable, as it violates the constitutional rights, which are the same for all citizens, regardless of their place of residence. The Head Pridnestrovie noted that over the past two years he had sent six official letters to the Russian leadership and the Foreign Ministry in this regard. Pridnestrovian parliamentarians and public activists have addressed to various Russian institutions and authorities in this regard. No progress has been made in resolving the issue.
As for obtaining Russian citizenship, the situation is no less critical. The simplified procedure introduced in March 2020 has been cancelled. There is practically no registration of applicants for citizenship, even those who have indisputable grounds. There are about 60,000 applicants on the waiting list. “Over the past four years I have personally written more than twenty letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Duma, the Federation Council, the leadership of the Russian Federation. There is no progress in this issue – none at all. This, in my opinion, is a completely wrong position. There must be at least some kind of answer: “there’s no way to do it”, “the situation is not right”, “there are no grounds for our compatriots to receive Russian citizenship” – that would be some kind of position. But there’s no answer, so how should I understand? What should I do with these facts? Citizens come to me. What should I tell them? I am obliged to give reasonable answers. As of today there is none. At the same time, we see that citizens of other states are admitted to Russian citizenship on a simplified basis,” said Vadim Krasnoselsky.
Vitaly Tryapitsyn spoke about the inviolability of historical ties and various aspects of bilateral cooperation. “The Russian-Pridnestrovian dialogue is of a permanent nature, we are closely connected. Despite the complicated geopolitics, the joint peacekeeping operation continues, which secure peace on the Dniester, and we will celebrate its 30th anniversary very soon. Trade and economic relations are developing, as well as cooperation in the humanitarian sphere,” the Ambassador said. The main goal of the visit of the Russian diplomat officially representing the Russian side in the process of the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian settlement, according to him, was the exchange of opinions on the assessment of the existing situation. He described the state of affairs in the negotiation process as difficult, saying that “the dialogue has been stalled and the work of the 5+2 format has long been on pause.”
In this regard Vadim Krasnoselsky noted the following: “Dialogue must continue – for the sake of peace. Naturally, the dialogue is hampered by the lack of work in the 5+2 format. The last meeting was disrupted at the fault of the Moldovan side. It was in the autumn of 2019. Since then, under various pretexts, be it a pandemic, hostilities, everything is frozen, and there is virtually no chance for the participants to meet in the Permanent Conference format. Still, as I said earlier, if there is no possibility of working in the 5+2 format, there must be 1+1 contacts. There are political representatives, there is the president, there are other Moldovan officials who must talk and work out compromise solutions for the issues that are not being resolved at the moment. Of course, there are contacts, but there is no progress. We must make use of any contacts in order to guarantee peace and security – this is one of the most important factors.” The President said that all the foreign interlocutors with whom he discussed the issue during the working meetings, including those from the 5+2 format, without exception prioritized peace. In this regard, the President considers it expedient to fix this position in a document. “Our idea is to address all participants in the 5+2 format, draw up a single document on guarantees of peace and security of Pridnestrovie and let everyone sign it, since they are talking about peace. Let them put their signature and thereby guarantee peace in our land. Let everyone who talks about peace confirm their wish with a signature – it will be a joint statement of all participants of the 5+2 format on security guarantees in Pridnestrovie,” Vadim Krasnoselsky suggested.
Speaking about the negotiating agenda, Vadim Krasnoselsky noted that it is well known to all and remains relevant. The PMR president underlined that many aspects should be considered in a new light after Moldova’s application for membership in the European Union. The vectors of Moldova and Pridnestrovie are opposite. Pridnestrovie made its choice in 2006 in a national referendum. Moldova, on the other hand, has never in its history asked the opinion of the people, Vadim Krasnoselsky reminded.
Peacekeeping was also a topic for the meeting. “In a few days we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the peacekeeping operation in Pridnestrovie. The unique project, the joint mission. In addition to Russian peacekeepers, peacekeepers from Pridnestrovie and Moldova also take part in it. There were observers from Ukraine, but for now they have been temporarily withdrawn from Pridnestrovie. Yet, the basic component is the Russian Federation. During the 30 years of its existence, this format has shown the highest degree of its effectiveness in preserving peace and security in Pridnestrovie. Everyone understands this, even those who vote in Europe for the recognition of Pridnestrovian territory as occupied by the Russian Federation. They understand perfectly well that Russia guarantees peace here. So what, is there a need for a war? Do those who want to withdraw peacekeeping forces think of war? While everyone is talking about peace. That is why I want a relevant document to be signed, guaranteeing peace. And the Pridnestrovian people and leadership of Pridnestrovie are grateful to Russia for maintaining peace and security here. I am sure that peacekeepers must continue to guarantee peace and security in Pridnestrovie,” Vadim Krasnoselsky said.
The meeting also touched upon the recent terrorist attacks in the republic. The President covered the investigation progress, the interim results and conclusions. Other matters of interest to the meeting participants were also discussed.
