Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev met with Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office to discuss the current standing within the negotiation process. Ambassador Kelly Keiderling, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, also attended the meeting.
Referring to communication between the political representatives dated 17 May, the PMR Foreign Minister said that he still awaits the position of the Republic of Moldova on the draft declaration on commitment to peaceful settlement proposed by Pridnestrovie. In addition, he said that the interaction between the sides is overshadowed by newly emerged issues related to the intensified economic pressure on the PMR.
In particular, Chisinau’s intentions to grant the status of tax monopoly to Metalferos public enterprise were assessed rather negatively. Vitaly Ignatiev drew attention to the statements of the Moldovan Minister of Economy that this step is directed exclusively against the interests of Moldova Steel Works JSC in Rybnitsa and is aimed at obtaining an additional source of income for the budget of the Republic of Moldova. The diplomat called Moldova’s actions “an economic blow and a political demarche” that provokes tension.
The minister also pointed out that the designated bodies of the Republic of Moldova, without prior notification of the Pridnestrovian side, began hindering goods, including foodstuffs, from coming to Pridnestrovie, demanding additional payments for the disposal of their package. At the same time, he stressed that the recycling process is carried out by Pridnestrovie independently and on its own territory, therefore, it is illegitimate to demand these payments to the Moldovan relevant associations.
During the discussion, the OSCE representatives paid special attention to the issue of relaunching Vehicle Registration Offices in Tiraspol and Rybnitsa, calling this area a priority. In this context, Vitaly Ignatiev stressed that the Pridnestrovian side has never given reasons to doubt its constructive attitude to this issue and has repeatedly confirmed, including the meeting of 17 May, its willingness to early resumption of the VROs operation.
The participants to the meeting also touched upon importing medicines to the PMR, the exports of Pridnestrovian industrial enterprises and the toughening of the Moldovan criminal legislation.
