The press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Kiev, Andrei Descitea, told a press conference on September 5 that Ukraine will not recognize the Transnistrian referendum and doesn’t plan to send official observers to the region. According to the Ukrainian press, Descitea stated that the economic relations between Ukraine and the Transnistrean region have worsened, but failed to mention the economic losses that Ukraine suffered after the new customs regime at the Moldo-Ukrainian border was introduced. Chisinau, along with the western countries with international organizations, have announced that the referendum planned for September 17 by the Tiraspol separatist authorities is illegal and will not be recognized. On the other hand, several Russian officials have declared in certain occasions that the referendum might be recognized by Moscow.