The Foreign Ministry hosted the meeting of Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev with Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Thomas Mayr-Harting. Kelly Keiderling, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, also attended the meeting.
Interlocutors discussed the current state and the negative dynamics of the dialogue between Pridnestrovie and Moldova. The PMR Foreign Minister stated that the negotiation process continues to be in a deep crisis due to both the failure of Moldova to fulfil a number of previously reached agreements and the emergence of new problems provoked by unilateral actions of the Republic of Moldova, resulting in restrictions on the rights and freedoms of Pridnestrovians.
In this context, he noted the mounting pressure on Pridnestrovian socio-economic and medical spheres, citing the problem with the detention of an X-ray tube for a CT scanner. Despite the contacts between political representatives and experts of the sides, the draft protocol decision submitted by Pridnestrovie, as well as Moldova’s promise to consider this issue in a constructive way, it remains unresolved. According to the diplomat, the period for the tube to be installed is running out and soon it will have to be sent back to the manufacturer. If so, patients of one of the Pridnestrovian medical institutions will have no access to certain medical services.
Attention was also drawn to the alarming trends in connection with the so-called “law on separatism”. Vitaly Ignatiev described as false the statements of the Moldovan side about the absence of negative consequences of the implemented changes in the Moldovan Criminal Code. He informed about the known facts of declaring Pridnestrovian residents wanted on the basis of new articles of the Moldovan Criminal Code. The Minister stressed that this leads to big problems in further cooperation within the framework of the Moldova-Pridnestrovie settlement and is a direct way to conflict escalation.
Separately, the sides discussed destructive processes in the transport sector, namely in the VRO functioning and the use of CMTPL insurance policies. The PMR Foreign Minister claimed that this sphere could have become a trigger of positive changes. However, Moldova not only blocked the work of the VRO but also by legislative norms practically destroyed the mechanism of vehicle registration within the model that was agreed in April 2018. At the same time, Pridnestrovian drivers began to face administrative prosecution on the territory of the Republic of Moldova for not having a Moldovan car insurance policy, which indicates Moldova’s withdrawal from the 2015 agreements.
Another acute problem is the Moldovan demands that Pridnestrovian economic entities pay environmental pollution fees to the budget of the Republic of Moldova, as well as its intention to resume the practice of charging customs fees for export-import operations cancelled following the negotiations in 2014. It is a gross violation of the existing agreements, which threatens Pridnestrovian enterprises with additional economic costs and double taxation.
“We understand that Moldova in fact unilaterally levels out the sense in any agreements, creating additional problems and putting pressure on people. Moldova even generates problems in the social and humanitarian sphere, in health sector, in the provision of foodstuffs and essential products. We believe that this situation is very dangerous, so mediation efforts must be proactive and effective. I hope that with the help of the Chairmanship-in-Office we will be able to at least partially solve the problems I have voiced today and to some extent offset the negative effect,” the Minister noted.
