Ukraine might cancel the customs regime at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border

The new Government headed by Victor Ianukovici, the leader of the Party of Ukrainian Regions could lead to “canceling the sanctions against Transnistria”, party’s MP of the Supreme Rada from Kiev, Taras Cernovil declared, Ukrainian press says. According to him, the Party of Regions pleaded against the actions of the leadership from Kiev to introduce economic sanctions (the new customs regime) against the Transnistrian region. On one hand these sanctions affected the Ukrainians of this region and that is why the Party of Regions will cancel these sanctions, MP says. As well, according to him, these actions influenced negatively upon the negotiation process between Chisinau and Tiraspol. The Party of Regions will undertake all the necessary measures to direct the talks to their normal track, under the guaranty of OSCE, Russia and Ukraine, Cernovil declared. The regime that allows transiting goods from the Transnistrian border at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border only with Moldovan customs documents was introduced on March 4, 2006, as a result of a joint declaration of the prime-ministers from Chisinau and Kiev at the end of 2005. The West welcomed this decision, while Moscow and Tiraspol qualified these actions as “economic blockade of Transnistria”. Within a press conference at the beginning of this week, the president Vladimir Voronin, referring to the political evolutions from Transnistria and the possible consequences that might occur in the settlement process of the Transnistrain dispute, declared that lately “very good and stable contacts” were established with Kiev, especially on the Transnistrian problem. At the same time the president expressed his hope that Ukraine will remain a reliable partner of Moldova. On the other hand, the Ukrainian coalition between the pro occidental parties headed by Victor Iuscenko and the Block of Iulia Timosenko and Socialist Party collapsed. The latter joined the MPs of the Party of Regions and Communist Party, pro Russian parties, who are trying to promote Ianukovici to the position of prime-minister.