The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration calls upon the Russian Federation to act in accordance with its status of mediator in the Transnistrian conflict settlement process and its official position, based on the observance of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova. The reaction is contained in a comment of the Ministry, issued after the Russian Foreign Ministry disseminated a communiqué in which the Russian side presents the current state of the settlement process in a tendentious manner, based on facts taken out of context and combined with erroneous interpretations, IPN reports.
The Moldovan Ministry says that this comment was published shortly after the Russian channel RTR broadcast a feature presenting the situation in Transnistria in a distorted way and aiming to create a state of fear and concern in society. The allusions made in this feature are groundless and represent, in essence, a conclusive example of propaganda that has been insistently promoted by the Russian mass media lately.
“We also see that the Russian side continues to promote the false thesis concerning the ‘economic blockade’ of the Transnistrian region. In this case, the Russian side intentionally mixes up the ‘blockade’ actions with the problems existing in the economic sphere between the two sides of the Nistru River, generated by the existence of the unsolved conflict and the lack of will on the part of the partners from Tiraspol, supported by foreign players, to make headway with the talks. This thesis is refuted even by the data made public by the Transnistrian authorities: the reign’s exports in the last six months rose by over 70% compared with the corresponding period last year,” says the comment.
The Moldovan side says the insistent promotion of the idea of ‘economic blockade’ becomes stranger in the context in which Russia groundlessly applies commercial restrictions against Moldova.
In this connection, Moldova constantly pleads for overcoming all the difficulties by a constructive dialogue, by obeying the international standards and commitments and in accordance with the international law principles. On July 10, Moldova’s Parliament invited Tiraspol to a new dialogue for overcoming the economic problems, but no reaction followed.
As to the Russian military presence in Transnistria, the Ministry reiterated the Moldovan authorities’ consistent position as regards the necessity of completing the withdrawal of the Russian troops and munitions from Moldova’s territory, and the importance of transforming the current peacekeeping mechanism into a civilly mandated multinational mission.
The Ministry underlined that the Moldovan authorities remain open for dialogue with the Russian side on all the problems related to the bilateral relations and the Transnistrian conflict.
On August 4, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a comment saying that Moldova’s acts concerning the peacekeeping contingent in Transnistria are ‘unfriendly’ and can destabilize the situation in the region.
