High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton welcomes the resumption of freight rail traffic through the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. “It is first of all a crucial step forward for restoring confidence between the sides to the Transnistrian issue,” she says in a statement issued to Info-Prim Neo. The statement also says that it is excellent news for the business community and the people living on the two banks of the Nistru River. “We are pleased that technical expertise from the EU helped come up with a practical solution. We are looking forward to more good news for confidence-building, such as the re-establishment of telecommunications across the Nistru,” stated Catherine Ashton. The freight rail traffic through the Transnistrian region was resumed after a six-year hiatus. The first train loaded with products of the Metallurgical Plant set off from Rybnitsa to Odessa on March 26. The event was attended by Prime Minister Vlad Filat and the Transnistrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk. They said they will soon meet again to sign a protocol on the restoration of telecommunications across the Nistru.