Vitaly Ignatiev and Oleg Serebrian met at the Office of the OSCE Mission in Bendery in the presence of mediators and observers.
At the beginning of the meeting, in the light of recent ambiguous statements and obvious stalling of the dialogue, the Pridnestrovian side called on all participants to continue constructive diplomatic negotiations within the framework of existing principles and procedures, as well as to resolve urgent problems through peaceful dialogue based on available agreements. Vitaly Ignatiev handed over a draft declaration prepared by Pridnestrovie on the commitment to peaceful methods of settling relations between Pridnestrovie and Moldova and invited Oleg Serebrian, as well as mediators and observers, to join it. The initiative, which contains a statement of readiness to show goodwill and mutual respect and to prevent the situation in the negotiations from deteriorating, will be studied by the Moldovan side.
During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on a number of topical issues on the negotiation agenda. Special emphasis was made on the situation regarding the import of medicines and medical equipment. The Minister recalled that the Moldovan political representative’s refusal of the mechanism agreed upon by the relevant experts caused an acute shortage of some medicines, including vital ones. Examples of specific medicines from this category, which currently cannot be imported to Pridnestrovie to meet the needs of state medical institutions, were mentioned. It was also pointed out that all shipments of Pridnestrovian pharmaceutical companies have recently been sent by the customs authorities of the Republic of Moldova through the so-called “red system”. Vitaly Ignatiev asked the OSCE Mission to intensify its efforts to solve this humanitarian issue.
The Foreign Minister separately urged to finalize the import of X-ray equipment for medical institutions in Pridnestrovie as soon as possible.
The issue of Moldova’s economic pressure on Pridnestrovie was touched upon. The Pridnestrovian side once again stressed the absolute illegitimacy of the levying of duties from Pridnestrovian economic agents by the customs authorities of the Republic of Moldova as of 1 January this year, noting their destructive impact on the socio-economic situation in the PMR. Specific figures for the first quarter of the current year were provided, indicating a decline in almost all branches of industrial production, a drop in trade turnover, and a reduction in budget revenues.
Vitaly Ignatiev drew attention to Moldova’s ongoing unmotivated actions to block the export of a number of leading industrial enterprises from Pridnestrovie. In particular, the products of these factories are categorized by the Moldovan commission as dual-use goods, despite the fact that they do not belong to this category. The vast majority of applications for export authorization are either not considered or rejected. According to the diplomat, unreasonable and excessive bureaucratic measures have made normal economic activities of these enterprises impossible, leading to the suspension of production processes and leaving some 1,500 workers unemployed.
The participants in the meeting discussed the prospects for restoring the full operation of the Vehicle Registration Offices in Tiraspol and Rybnitsa. The Pridnestrovian side reiterated to the Moldovan political representative its readiness to resume their work without delay in the nearest future, and also formulated a number of substantive questions to be answered in the context of resuming and ensuring the functionality of the VRO mechanism.
Vitaly Ignatiev raised the issue of politically motivated criminal prosecution of Pridnestrovians in the Republic of Moldova, as well as security guarantees, including when negotiation events are held on the territory of Moldova, in the wake of amendments to the criminal legislation of the Republic of Moldova, which were criticized by international participants in the Moldova-Pridnestrovie settlement.
In view of the submitted draft declaration, Pridnestrovie also initiated the discussion of the prospects for the negotiation process, with a focus on preventing the degradation of the dialogue and Moldova’s return to the implementation of previously signed agreements. The Minister stressed the need to remove obstacles to the holding of meetings within the negotiation process on Moldova’s territory, in line with the principle of rotation, to make them more regular and substantial. The readiness for negotiations at the level of the leadership of the parties and within the 5+2 framework was confirmed. The Pridnestrovian side also suggested returning to the practice of holding informal conferences on confidence-building measures.
