Tiraspol, 14 December. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The president has met the acting foreign minister today, the presidential press office reports. In Moscow the head of Pridnestrovie's foreign ministry held a number of meetings: with Sergey Glazyev, adviser to the Russian president on regional economic integration, Sergey Gubarev, Russia's MFA ambassador at large, Dmitry Loskutov, an aide to Russia's vice premier and president's special envoy on Pridnestrovie Dmitry Rogozin. Besides, Vitaly Ignatyev had an exchange of views with the partners from the Russian Institute for Strategic Research and Rossotrudnichestvo's leadership (Russia's federal cultural agency).
Vitaly Ignatyev has told Yevgeny Shevchuk that a wide range of issues relating to Pridnestrovie's situation were raised during the Moscow meetings. He has noted that special attention was given to trade relations between Pridnestrovie and the European Union after 1 January 2016.
It is recalled that the trade preferences regime for the Pridnestrovian exporters selling products to the EU's market expires on 31 December 2015. The foreign ministry has hold long and complex negotiations with European partners to find a mechanism that will be applied to the Pridnestrovian economic agents since 1 January 2016.
«We can say now that the EU has determined that the Pridnestrovian exporters will enjoy a duty-free access to the EU's markets. We believe this is a stabilising decision. We hope this mechanism will be properly applied and will not be clouded by unilateral demands and restrictions by Moldova," said Vitaly Ignatyev.
The foreign ministry has also told the president that serious attention was given to possible implications which may arise from the decision made by Moldova and Ukraine to establish a joint customs and border post at the Kuchurgan checkpoint on the border with the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
«This decision is illegitimate as it was made beyond the negotiation mechanism. We believe any decisions affecting the destiny of economic agents and Pridnestrovie's interests must be discussed with the Pridnestrovian side," underscored Vitaly Ignatyev.
According to him, the implementation of this joint project may lead to negative complex consequences for Pridnestrovie: economic losses and losses caused by neighbour states' imposing additional tariff and non-tariff requirements, certain restrictions of freedom of movement for Pridnestrovie's citizens, goods, services and vehicles.
«We have officially addressed to the participants of the 5+2 format, requesting Moldova and Ukraine to give up this project. Our position will not change. We must put our heads together to make Moldova and Ukraine return to a political dialogue and constructive decisions, which do not aggravate the already tense relations between Moldova and Pridnestrovie," said Vitaly Ignatyev.
Individual attention was given to the fact that all most all trips of Pridnestrovian officials form Kishinev airport are accompanied with intensive examination, including a body search and a thorough luggage inspection.
It was emphasised at the meeting that Pridnestrovie regards the facts of unjustified body search of Pridnestrovie's government members as a goal-directed behaviour offending the honour and dignity of Pridnestrovie's officials. Such measures, it was noted, are coarse attempts to exert political pressure on the participants of the settlement process as many Pridnestrovian officials are heads of the expert working groups which are part of the negotiation process.
