Tiraspol, 10 February. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. In 2015 the Pridnestrovian diplomacy worked in extremely difficult, extraordinary conditions, which was due to the complex overlapping of several problematic factors of global and regional character, said the foreign minister, Vitaly Ignatyev, at the MFA's board meeting.
«Analysing last year's events, one can state Pridnestrovie was subjected to a massive attack with the involvement of hybrid methods of influence. The whole complex of coercive measures was taken against our country last year both at the state and humanitarian level.
Among them was filing politically motivated criminal charges against Pridnestrovian authorities, businessmen and ordinary citizens.
Today, according to the MFA, almost 200 persons are being prosecuted in Moldova and there are more criminal cases to come.
Vitaly Ignatyev also reminded the audience that last year «a sword of Damocles was hanging above us in the form of the problem of the expiration of the trade preferences allowing our economic agents to benefit from duty-free trade with the EU.»
Among coercive measures the foreign minister also singled out Ukraine's governmental decree No. 117 «On prohibition of transportation of excisable goods to Pridnestrovie», which has considerably affected Pridnestrovie's budget.
Another measure was a ban put by Moldova's border police on the crossing of the Moldo-Ukrainian border by Pridnestrovian vehicles, as well as the approval by «the Moldo-Ukrainian side, beyond the international mechanism of expert groups, of a destructive decision to change a mechanism of the importation of goods to Pridnestrovie by excluding the participation of the Pridnestrovian railway, which may result in an aggregate loss of $4.5 million.»
The minister also mentioned the agreement signed between Ukraine and Moldova under the auspices of the EUBAM mission and the EU on the establishment of a joint Moldo-Ukrainian checkpoint on the Pridnestrovian border.
«This is an exclusively political decision made beyond the negotiation process and defying all the existing contract and legal foundations of the conflict settlement," underscored Ignatyev.
The Moldovan authorities are continuing to exert administrative and psychological pressure on the officials and citizens of Pridnestrovie who are passing through passport control in Kishinev airport. Some of them are deported from Moldova. «And this list of attacks on Pridnestrovie is by no means exhaustive. Moreover, these actions are accompanied by an aggressive and dirty propaganda campaign conducted by the neighbouring state," noted the minister.
