At a meeting in the President’s office, Vitaly Ignatiev told Vadim Krasnoselsky that the PMR Foreign Ministry received an official notification of the planned visit to Pridnestrovie of the Slovak Foreign Minister, OSCE CiO Miroslav Lajcak. The Head of the PMR Foreign Ministry called the upcoming meeting “a good opportunity to synchronize watches, determine plans for the coming year,” and the Permanent Conference – a working advisory platform with international participation. Vadim Krasnoselsky, for his part, described the 5+2 format as the most effective mechanism in terms of reaching agreements and guaranteeing their implementation. “We need to maintain working contacts with all participants of the negotiation process, including mediators and observers, and to enlist their support. We should continue working on implementation of the reached agreements and be ready to sign new ones in the interest of the Pridnestrovian people. Humanitarian, social and economic issues must be resolved”, said the President. The interlocutors noted that the position of Pridnestrovie regarding the rhythm and systematic work of the existing mechanism is unchanged.
Contacts of foreign policy representatives and interaction at the level of working groups continue. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR, more regular meetings are expected in the near future. “There is, of course, a factor of electoral processes in Moldova. The current political representative from the Republic of Moldova will complete her mission. Nevertheless, our task is to ensure that working groups, technical specialists continue their systematic work on the implementation of the reached agreements”, said Vitaly Ignatiev.
During the meeting the interlocutors discussed the interaction with the Russians. There are activities both at the diplomatic level and through the Trade Representation. Today, the most pressing problem is restrictions on the transit through Ukraine of goods that are delivered to the Russian Federation. Considering that Pridnestrovie is an active exporter of some product groups and items to Russia, it is necessary to take all possible measures to minimize negative costs for economic agents of the Republic, the interlocutors emphasized.
“Joint activities with Russian colleagues should contribute to the settlement of this issue and resumption of transit of Pridnestrovian goods to Russia,” Vadim Krasnoselsky stressed. An effective platform for discussing and solving this and similar problems will be the Official Representation of Pridnestrovie in the Russian Federation. Its official opening is scheduled for the end of January. At the moment, preparatory work is under way. The format, goals and objectives of the new diplomatic office are defined. Vadim Krasnoselsky believes that the opening of the Pridnestrovian Pepresentation in Moscow is an important step in strengthening and developing relations between Pridnestrovie and the Russian Federation.