Regulating goods transit across Moldovan-Ukrainian border is to continue

Prime Ministers of Moldova and Ukraine restated their intention to respect the provisions of the Joint Declaration on regulating goods transit via Moldovan-Ukrainian border, concluded on December 2005, in Kiev. Vasile Tarlev mentioned, at a press conference in Kiev, which followed the meeting of the Joint Moldovan-Ukrainian Commission for Commercial-Economic Cooperation, that the provisions of this declaration have a historic value, supported by the European Union. "We implement European standards in order to ensure the security of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, especially, on the Transnistrian segment. We are willing to create joint cross-border points on the Moldovan-Ukrainian segment", the prime minister underlined. According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Iuri Ehanurov, Ukraine welcomes and supports the customs procedure according to Moldovan specimens. In his opinion, during nine months, this mechanism showed to be very efficient, and the goods transit process via across the Moldovan-Ukrainian border got normal. "All the decisions approved previously regarding the provisions of this declaration were fulfilled appropriately, and their further abidance is an important element of Ukraine’s foreign policy," Ehanurov underscored. The Ukrainian Prime Minister noted that the situation created in Transnistria is not "an economic blockade", as the separatist authorities call it, but a self-blockade. Asked to comment upon the agreement concluded between the separatist leader Igor Smirnov and the Russian deputy minister Alexandr Jukov on bilateral cooperation, Ehanurov noted that the document has no juridical value, neither deserves to be comment. The Prime Ministers of Moldova and Ukraine concluded, on December 30, 2005, a Joint Declaration on regulating goods transit via Moldovan-Ukrainian border. The document stipulates creating a favorable framework for customs officers’ activity and respect of European standards at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border.