Tiraspol cannot comprehend and accept the logic of the European Union that has yet again extended restrictive measures in relation to a number of Pridnestrovien representatives. This statement was made today by PMR's Foreign Minister Vladimir Yastrebchak at the briefing for Pridnestrovien journalists.
The head of the MFA reminded that EU leadership has been practicing sanctions forbidding access to and movement on the European territory by representatives of the PMR since 2003. Since that time, the list of persons falling under this ban has constantly increased, and today it includes more than twenty Pridnestrovien citizens. “It is not simply sanctions that are preserved, but an attempt to solve problems by methods of pressure, threat and blackmail. All these by no means indicate the European Union's aspiration to understand real situation and make real contribution to the settlement of the Moldova-Pridnestrovie relations based on the principles of equality and mutual respect,” Vladimir Yastrebchak told.
He noted that settlement process on the Dniester have recently seen tangible changes. Among them are results of the 8-9 September German consultations and decision to resume official work of the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Framework of the Pridnestrovien Settlement Negotiation Process (the 5+2 format) which was made in follow-up of Moscow consultations on September 22, 2011. “Unfortunately, despite all these events, the European bureaucracy showed that possibilities of its inertness are much higher than possibilities of its adequate reaction to the ongoing changes,” the Minister noted. He drew attention to the fact that actions of the European representatives and their statements do not correspond. “Our European partners declare at various expert forums that the EU is ready to play a more active role, and render assistance of various kinds in the settlement process. However, in practice all this assistance is expressed only in preservation of restrictive measures in relation to officials of the PMR and simply citizens of our Republic while it's not a secret indeed that quite a lot of people standing on this list are no longer officials,” Vladimir Yastrebchak said.
In his words, European representatives should understand that such policy will be followed by corresponding reaction of Pridnestrovie. “Actions of this kind cannot but have impact on discussions about status of the European Union in the 5+2 format, and such actions virtually bring to naught claims of the EU on changing its status. Just the same, this cannot but affect the way the European diplomats will henceforth move across the territory of Pridnestrovie,” stated head of PMR's MFA.
In his response to journalists' questions, he qualified pretexts which accompany European decision on sanctions as far-fetched. “We have never adjusted our policy to anybody, and I don't think we should do anything to remove sanctions. We gave no excuse for their introduction, and it's high time for our European colleagues to give assessment to what has in reality happened during eight and a half years from the moment of introduction of these measures,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs told. He specified that Tiraspol's response to extension of sanctions will not necessarily be symmetrical. “But I can say it will be an adequate one,” noted Vladimir Yastrebchak.
