“We are waiting for steps towards the peaceful reintegration of Transnistria (Eastern districts of the Republic of Moldova – editor’s note),” Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi said in an interview with the editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian publication “Evropeiskaya Pravada” (“European Truth”) Sergey Sidorenko during a visit to Kiev.
The journalist emphasizes that they discussed the Transnistrian threat and ways to solve the old conflict, the integration into the EU and the fact that Ukraine will start exporting goods in transit through the Transnistrian region in the near future.
Answering his interlocutor’s question, Minister Popușoi said that joint border control on the Transnistrian segment has now been agreed. “For years we wanted this, but only now it has become a reality - together with our Ukrainian partners, we control everything that enters and leaves the Transnistrian region, not in order to create humanitarian crises or problems. We allow the region to get everything it needs. But we also want to see reciprocity from them, given all the advantages and incentives it enjoys, including from the European integration process. We also want the Transnistrians, because they are our citizens, to take steps towards the peaceful reintegration of the region with the right bank,” the minister said.
Speaking about consular services for Ukrainian passport holders in the region (usually Moldovan citizens), the head of the Moldovan diplomatic service said that “we have nothing against Ukraine providing consular services to its citizens from Transnistria. Moreover, Ukrainian consuls have been meeting on the left bank of the Nistru with service seekers for years, without provoking any negative reaction in Chisinau. At the same time, we cannot accept any interaction of Ukraine with the so-called authorities on the left bank of the Nistru,” Mihai Popșoi noted.
The interlocutors talked about Moldova’s contribution to increasing the neighboring country’s export capacities, including the bridge under construction near Yampol and the transit of trains with civil goods through the Transnistrian region of Moldova. The latter subject is negotiated exclusively by the Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities, without Tiraspol’s involvement, said the Moldovan minister, referring to the extension of the “solidarity paths”. In this regard, bridges will also be built across the Prut River, on the Moldovan-Romanian border, which "will allow us to truly become a logistical aid center for Ukraine.” Moreover, with Romania “we have already created a tripartite format at the level of foreign ministers to coordinate energy, infrastructure and other topics so as to help each other more efficiently,” Minister Popșoi pointed out.
Commenting on poll data that NATO is underappreciated in Moldova, Mihai Popșoi blamed Russian propaganda, the Soviet legacy and the fact that Moldovan politicians did nothing to dispel propaganda narratives and inform the citizens about NATO’s role in Moldova.
“I know more than an ordinary citizen knows because I started my career at the NATO Information Center in Moldova. And I can say, for example, how much the Alliance member states spent to eliminate Soviet pesticides, which poisoned Moldovan soil for many years. Or about NATO’s support for the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the aid for equipping the national army... The people live under the influence of a false paradigm, which says that neutrality is a guarantee of security... Moldova needs a public discussion about this. Perhaps after such a debate, the people will change their minds, as happened in Finland and Sweden. Perhaps they will not change their minds. For example, Austria decided to remain neutral. I don’t know what Moldova will decide in the end. But we need to start talking about it,” the minister concluded.
