The president commented in an interview with Russia's NG newspaper on the appeal of the country's social organisations to the Russian president to prevent the PMR's blockade from being tightened by Moldova and Ukraine. The letter says that the authorities of Moldova and Ukraine, with the financial and expert assistance of the EU, has started joint customs and border control over the Pridnestrovian section of the border. It is underscored that these actions have not been agreed with Tiraspol and go counter to the agreements reached in the «5+5» format.
«All activities with regard to Pridnestrovie should be agreed upon with Tiraspol, which has been agreed within the '5+2' negotiating process. However, Moldova and Ukraine agreed to set up joint checkpoints on the Pridnestrovian sector of the border on their own, with the approval of the OSCE. Nobody had ever invited Pridnestrovie to discuss that issue. As a result, Pridnestrovie's situation has aggravated. Many Pridnestrovians may lose their jobs. And this despite the fact that Ukraine is a guarantor of peace in the region and of the settlement of the Pridnestrovian conflict. Igor Dodon had backed this border venture. And then, at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, he promised that the Pridnestrovian issue would be resolved," noted Vadim Krasnoselsky.
The president said that Pridnestrovie did not «believe in words, but in deeds», noting, in the meantime, that in six months of his presidency Igor Dodon had not fulfilled a single promise to the PMR.
«And in six months of his presidency, as well as mine, Dodon hasn't fulfilled any of his promises. For example, the issue of mutual recognition of university diplomas issued in Pridnestrovie and Moldova has yet to be resolved. The railway near the Slobodka station has not been unblocked, which actually prevents the shipment of cargoes from Moldovan Steel Works. Not an item from a «roadmap' we have submitted to Kishinev has been fulfilled. This document provides, among other things, for the release from detention of Pridnestrovians arrested for political reasons in Moldova and Moldovan policemen and officials arrested in Pridnestrovie. We have released 10 persons; and Kishinev, none. We are expecting the Moldovan side to take reciprocal steps," the Pridnestrovian president told NG.
In February 2017, Moldova's prime minister Pavel Filip agreed during his visit to Kiev to establish joint control of the Pridnestrovian sector of the Ukrainian border. Tiraspol has seen this agreement as an attempt to put economic pressure on Pridnestrovie. Russia's MFA has expressed concern about the escalation of tension between Moldova and Pridnestrovie and called for the early convening of a new round of negotiations in the «5 + 2» format.
Such activities by Kiev and Kishinev may result in an annual loss of $40 million for Pridnestrovie, which is nearly a fifth of the country's budget.
