Separatist authorities threaten to bar entry for Romanian cars

The breakaway region of Transnistria has threatened Chisinau with a ban on entry for Romania-registered vehicles in response to the Moldovan Government’s decision to place movement restrictions on vehicles with Transnistrian plates. “Transnistria stands ready for anything and it could forbid vehicles with Romanian plates from entering its territory”, Igor Smirnov, the leader of the separatist region was reported by the Tiraspol-based media as saying. However, Smirnov didn’t tell whether the restrictions will affect cars bearing Ukrainian plates too. Under the governmental decision, the vehicles registered in the Transnistrian region will not be able to pass through Moldovan border checkpoints when travelling to Ukraine and Romania. Staring January 1, 2009, Transnistrian cars will not be able to travel inside the country either. The Moldovan Government argued its decision was a move to update the State Register for Transport. At the same time, Minister of Information Development Vladimir Molojen said the owners of such vehicles would be able to register the cars in Moldova within six months. The vehicles brought into Moldova before 1993 will not need clearance documents. The owners of the other means of transport will have to pay the difference between the clearance tax in Transnistria and the one levied in Moldova. According to Molojen, the tax levied on the left bank of the Nistru makes up only 25-30% of the tax levied in Moldova. It is believed that the movement restrictions placed on the vehicles registered with Transnistrian authorities will have to be coordinated with Romania and Ukraine.