The ministry of foreign affairs of the self-proclaimed Transnistrian republic said patrolling inspectors stopped the company car of minister Vitaly Igantyev on the Bender – Chisinau road on June 8. These withdrew the license plate of the car and fined the driver. In a comment placed on its website, the ministry describes these actions as a challenge by Chisinau, which is aimed at consciously worsening the relations with the Transnistrian side, IPN reports.

According to the ministry, this incident occurred amid a new refusal by the Key Negotiator of Chisinau Gheorghe Balan to have a meeting with his Transnistrian counterpart and discuss the problem of participation by the Transnistrian carriers in international traffic.

The Transnistrian side requests Chisinau to provide explanations and to give back the confiscated license plate. It also made a request to the participants in the 5+2 format talks to assess the actions of the Moldovan side.

Contacted by IPN, Mariana Sary, senior adviser at the public relations and protocol section of the Reintegration Office, said the Office will not comment on this subject. A meeting of the working group on road transport will be soon convened to discuss the given issue.