The initiative of the Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities to establish joint control at the border crossing point Pervomaisk-Cuchurgan on the Ukrainian side aroused the dissatisfaction of the Transnistrian side. Tiraspol’s key negotiator for the Transnistrian conflict settlement Vitaly Ignatiev, after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Gheorghe Balan at the OSCE head office in Chisinau on March 14, said this initiative is expected to generate economic losses of over US$300 million to the Transnistrian region and could hamper the free movement of locals, IPN reports.
Vitaly Ignatiev noted the Moldovan side’s plan is destructive and called on the representatives of Chisinau to give it up. He also said that even if joint meetings of the working groups and key negotiators are held, their efficiency is very low, while the problems related to railway transport and import of oil products into Transnistria or those concerning the vehicles with Transnistrian license plates remain unsolved.
The political representative of Tiraspol also said that the subject of joint control on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border should be included in the agenda of the next round of talks in the 5+2 format. There is sufficient transparency in the exchange of information between Moldova and Ukraine and Tiraspol sees no need in instituting joint control on the border.
For his part, Gheorghe Balan, who traditionally made statements for the press separately from the political representative of Tiraspol, said they have spoken long about the establishment of joint control on the border. In 2015, the Transnistrian side was invited to take part in this, but didn’t accept the invitation. Now all kinds of misleading statements are made.
As to the hampering of people’s movement, the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration said the Transnistrians travel through the Security Zone and go through the internal customs posts controlled by Chisinau without any problem. Moreover, they benefit from visa-free travel in the EU, as the rest of the Moldovans. In this connection, Gheorghe Balan said the statements about possible movement-related problems are speculations. Those who smuggle and are involved in other illegal businesses feel in danger, while those who do not violate the legislation are no way affected.
The official also spoke about the benefits of the joint control on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, which implies the simplification of checks by merging the checking procedures of the Moldovan and Ukrainian customs inspectors. Joint control will start to be applied in the coming months, being also a condition that Ukraine must respect in the process of association with the EU.
