Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Vlad Kulminski criticizes the former government that negotiated the agreement on the introduction of neutral-design license plates for vehicles with Transnistrian number plates. According to the official, the mechanism was designed only to show progress in the Transnistrian file as the Republic of Moldova was under international isolation. He said negotiations are now held to ensure that at least the minibuses and buses with Transnistrian number plates are allowed to cross the Ukrainian border, IPN reports.
Kulminski noted the official Chisinau’s request to put off the imposition of the entry ban for vehicles with Transnistrian number plates is nothing else but an attempt to help the Moldovan citizens from the left side of the Nistru. The decision affects the ordinary people who didn’t manage to replace the license plates.
“It is not a concession in favor of the self-styled Transnistrian authorities. It was a request in favor of the ordinary people. According to our data, only 6,000 vehicle owners changed the Transnistrian number plates for neutral-design plates, but the vehicles leaving the Transnistrian region total about 20,000. Chisinau is fully determined to apply this mechanism, even if this was badly planned. The goal of the neutral-design license plates in 2018 was to present progress in the Transnistrian file as the Republic of Moldova was under international isolation,” Vlad Kulminski stated in the program “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, negotiations will be held in Tighina on September 3 and the Moldovan authorities will propose not imposing the ban on minibuses, buses and commercial transport.
“This mechanism does not envision the possibility for maxi-taxies, buses and commercial transport to obtain neutral-design license plates. The idea of Chisinau was to get more time to finish the implementation of this mechanism. We will have negotiations in Bender, at the office of the OSCE Mission, on the subject. I’m not very satisfied with the way in which the agreement on neutral-design license plates was negotiated, but the ban imposed by Kiev is in force already and we will apply this mechanism,” stated Kulminski.
Ukraine decided to ban entry to vehicles with Transnistrian number plates as from September 1. The ban took effect even if the Moldovan authorities asked the official Kiev to postpone the implementation of this decision until January 10, 2022.
