PMR Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev participated in a meeting of the Supreme Council of the PMR Commission on Foreign Policy and International Relations.
The main topic of discussion was the bill adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova in the first reading on the introduction of additional articles in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova, including providing for punishment for “separatism”.
In his speech, Vitaly Ignatiev said that the Moldovan side avoids addressing topical issues on the bilateral agenda, most of them being exclusively of a humanitarian nature. Besides, this year the problems created by the Republic of Moldova for the Pridnestrovian population and economic entities have aggravated, especially due to Ukraine’s closure of the border with Pridnestrovie.
Thus, the Diplomat stated, the implementation of the destructive changes in the Moldovan Criminal Code takes place amid the growing deterioration of the negotiation process and the dysfunction of the 5+2 format.
During the meeting, the Minister presented to the Commission members information about the planned amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova, recalling that an attempt to introduce similar provisions in its own criminal legislation was made by the neighboring state back in 2014. In his opinion, such a decision can have a destructive effect on the entire negotiation process.
Vitaly Ignatiev said that the Foreign Ministry had already demanded through official channels that the Moldovan side provide comprehensive explanations of the bill currently under consideration.
In continuation of the discussion, attention was paid to the recent statements made by the Moldovan representatives regarding the development of a certain plan for the settlement of the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict.
The participants discussed the possibility of taking necessary legislative measures to protect Pridnestrovian citizens in the context of recent actions by Moldova. It was also decided to send an appeal to the Moldovan Parliament to provide explanations for the amendments to the Criminal Code.
