The PMR President met with members of the Security Council to discuss the current state of affairs. There are two issues included to the agenda: strengthening the blockade-restrictive measures taken by the Republic of Moldova against the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and its citizens as well as the situation with the dissemination of information about the alleged mining of social institutions located on the territory of Pridnestrovie.
The PMR Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev made an introductory report on the first issue. He voiced current data, drew parallels with the events of past years, two years ago in particular and analyzed the dynamics of the negotiation process. The speaker singled out three main aspects of Moldovan-Pridnestrovian relations.
The first is a three-year stagnation of the negotiation process with the Moldovan side imitation of its participation. Chisinau in practice refuses to implement existing agreements and avoids a real discussion of emerging problems, even when it comes to inherently technical issues. Only three meetings of expert (working) groups and four meetings of political representatives have taken place since the beginning of this year, the effectiveness of which the Foreign Minister of Pridnestrovie considers to be practically zero. As a result, the number of unresolved issues is growing like a snowball, Vitaly Ignatiev noted.
The second factor that the minister focused on is the politically motivated criminal prosecution of citizens of the PMR practiced by Moldova for decades. Vitaly Ignatiev mentioned as one of the examples the case of Samoniy, a former Pridnestrovian law enforcement officer detained by Moldovan structures.
The third direction, indicated by the minister, is the blockade by Moldova. According to Vitaly Ignatiev, the neighboring republic took advantage of the situation in Ukraine in the most unseemly way and the closure of checkpoints on the Pridnestrovian-Ukrainian state border, limiting the import of a wide range of vital goods in the Pridnestrovian direction. The speaker recalled that this has already happened: exactly two years ago, when the pandemic and related quarantine restrictions left a serious imprint on the life of the international community, when countries joined forces to counter this global problem, Moldova delayed medicines, personal protective equipment, medical equipment and other humanitarian cargoes to Pridnestrovie for weeks. A batch of license plates for vehicles was detained in December 2021. Several trucks with medicines of Russian and European production, trucks loaded with fertilizers and plant protection products cannot enter the territory of the PMR now. The problem of delays at the border of gasoline and diesel fuel has become a constant. At the same time, there is no systematic and logical decision-making. As a result, fuel deliveries are spasmodic, logistics is disrupted, and contractual obligations are disrupted.
The consequences of the unreasonable and thoughtless erection of administrative and bureaucratic barriers for the operation of large enterprises of the republic deserve special attention. An important device for the production process is waiting for the Moldavskaya GRES device since the 9th of February: the flame scanner is not allowed on the Moldovan border. The Bendery Meat Processing Plant tried to solve the problem of importing raw materials for the production of meat products into the republic from March 18 to March 23. The Moldovan side and in particular the political representative promised assistance, but limited themselves to words. A batch of raw materials imported from Poland had to be returned to the supplier. Another example is MMZ. The metallurgical giant faced a Moldova-provoked halt in the import of scrap metal from Europe in November 2021. After lengthy negotiations, this issue was resolved, and from April 1 of this year, the resumption of supplies of European products of this profile was expected. The delivery of scrap metal from the European Union and from Moldova itself is still blocked due to ongoing restrictions from Moldova. Despite the full openness of the enterprise and the environmental audit that took place in early March, Moldova's administrative barriers have not yet been revised. The plant that employs two and a half thousand people and is one of the largest taxpayers in Pridnestrovie is idle. This is confirmation that the blockade is not only economic, but also social and humanitarian in nature.
Another significant point is the banking problem. Here the blockade is pronounced. The National Bank of Moldova issued a circular for Moldovan commercial banks, ordering them to consider all Pridnestrovian clients as having a high degree of risk. Current accounts of our business entities are not serviced, it is forbidden to open new ones. Moreover, ordinary citizens cannot use their own funds stored on international cards. In addition to Pridnestrovians, tens of thousands of foreign citizens who arrived from Ukraine faced this problem for example. They also do not have the opportunity to withdraw money from personal cards of international standard (Visa and MasterCard payment systems), since their use is blocked in the territory of Pridnestrovie.
“We appeal to international partners, participants of the “5 + 2” format, send a corresponding appeal to the Moldovan side, conduct a direct dialogue on every situation, literally on every cargo, including by telephone, online communication with a political representative, with OSCE, mediators. But this does not lead to a positive result unfortunately. Moreover, the expert (working) groups that should solve sectoral problems related to banking, economic, transport issues, issues related to the fight against crime and criminal cases, they actually do not work this year. The initiatives regarding the development a special mechanism for the transit through Moldova to Pridnestrovie of medicines, plant protection products, industrial goods were sent to the Moldovan side. Unfortunately, the Moldovan side has not yet worked out the mechanism properly, even in terms of medicines,” Vitaly Ignatiev stated, recalling that they still managed to do this in the pandemic 2020.
Vadim Krasnoselsky considers the position of the neighboring state to be inhumane. “Moldova is taking advantage of an extremely difficult geopolitical situation and is squeezing a blockade around Pridnestrovie - not only economic, but humanitarian. We continue to engage in dialogue, using all available platforms, tools and resources. Negotiations should not be just talk. The purpose of the negotiation process is to make people's lives better, easier, more comfortable. What do we get now as a result of the discussion with the Moldovan side? Agreements are not being implemented. There are more and more problems. But we must not give up. The negotiation process will continue. We must and will defend the interests of our citizens. Moldova on its own or with the assistance of the international community must come to an understanding that it is unacceptable to violate people's rights. Any kind of blockade measures are inhumane, hinder development, stagnate the dialogue,” the PMR President noted.
The meeting participants discussed the problematic aspects, exchanged views and proposals for their solution, outlined a plan for further action.
Discussing the problem of the increasing cases of dissemination of false information about the mining of public places and various institutions, members of the Security Council said that no message no matter how absurd it may seem should not be ignored by law enforcement agencies. Each declared fact is carefully checked. Ensuring the safety of citizens is a top priority, Vadim Krasnoselsky emphasized. The relevant services are investigating. The guilty will be held accountable. Such crimes are punished by criminal punishment in Pridnestrovie.
