Bendery, 23 August. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. In June 2016 the representatives of Moldova and Pridnestrovie signed a protocol following the 5+2 talks, which were held in Berlin with the involvement of Russia, Ukraine and OSCE. The protocol consisted of seven paragraphs which suggested, inter alia, reaching agreements on the recognition of Pridnestrovie-issued university diplomas and licence plates, telecommunication, ecology and criminal cases.
A year has passed, but none of the items have been implemented yet. The political representatives of the sides, Vitaly Ignatyev and Gheorghe Balan, met today at Bendery's OSCE office to discuss current issues on the negotiating agenda, focussing on the implementation of the protocol provisions.
The last time the chief negotiators met in this format this March, after which a long pause followed. Although Pridnestrovie's initiative to organise a meeting was sent to the Moldovan side about two months ago.
Today's agenda, however, was rich, as always. The meeting lasted two hours after which the diplomats talked to Pridnestrovian journalists.
Recognition of licence plates
According to Pridnestrovie's foreign minister, Vitaly Ignatyev, the sided discussed a number of priority issues for Pridnestrovie, such as the participation of vehicles registered in the PMR in international road traffic.
«There five meetings of dedicated expert groups. There are different positions of Moldova and Pridnestrovie on the subject. We consider Moldova's position destructive, which prevents us from finding a solution, which is why I have called on Moldova's representative to give the necessary impetus so that Moldovan experts will accommodate international practice and the provisions we have in the negotiating process," noted Ignatyev.
Ignatyev recalled there were expert opinions, including those by the EUBAM mission, which admits that Pridnestrovian cars can easily participate in international traffic.
«I hope we'll see some positive momentum at the next expert meeting, which will take place next week. At least, this is what my Moldovan colleague has promised," said Ignatyev.
Compulsory Third Party Insurance
The negotiators also discussed CTP insurance. Pridnestrovie had sent two messages to notify the Moldovan negotiator that three economic entities of Pridnestrovie had joined the existing mechanism. There has been no official response from Moldova so far.
«Mr Balan has confirmed today that all Moldovan insurers agree with the current vehicle insurance scheme and that none of them wants to withdraw from the agreement. We'll continue work in this direction because there are certain political issues related to the sums of insurance benefits and other contradicting issues which should be resolved at the level of the relevant experts. Therefore, we are awaiting an official response from Moldova in the nearest future," explained Ignatyev.
Telecommunications
Telecommunication issues are another subject on which the sides have not been able to reach a consensus for several years.
Tiraspol proposed its solution to this problem. As Ignatyev explained, the initiative is a comprehensive draft protocol solution with a technological annexe that will «remove the existing problems in this area and provide the necessary telecommunication services for the people of Pridnestrovie without any problem.»
«The Moldovan side keeps itself aloof from resolving this issue, proposing as a precondition for this agreement the necessity for an agent providing such services to get registered with the Moldovan authorities. And then Moldova will supposedly assist. I believe that political representatives have obligations and must help our economic entities to come to a common agreement. We asked the Moldovan side to assist in organising a meeting of Pridnestrovian and Moldovan telecom operators so that they could discuss technical issues. Because the dedicated expert group is at an impasse on this issue. I hope we'll see some practical results at the next meeting," said Ignatyev.
Land use problem
Once again the Moldovan side emphasised attention to the so-called land use problem in Pridnestrovie' Dubossary District. Pridnestrovie considers this issue technically settled, but the Moldovan authorities continue to claim its urgency.
In fact, this subject is artificially politicised, Ignatyev believes.
«The 2006 mechanism, which Moldova considered inefficient, is not valid. In 2013−14 we worked out a new draft protocol solution to land use, but for political reasons that process stalled. Naturally, people's rights could not be infringed, the lands could not remain uncultivated, and Pridnestrovie has created conditions for cultivating those lands. This procedure is optimal.
I have requested the Moldovan side one more time to provide information about specific land users who cannot cultivate the land. But Mr Balan has refused to send us the relevant documents," said Ignatyev.
Criminal cases
The problem of politically motivated criminal cases brought in Moldova against Pridnestrovian officials, businessmen and ordinary citizens has been discussed for many years. In 2014−2015 it became one of the basic negative factors that significantly complicated the negotiating process. The number of criminal cases against Pridnestrovians has reached 200.
The Moldovan side is evading dialogue in this area. Pridnestrovie, on the contrary, made a decision as a good will act to discontinue criminal prosecution against ten Moldovan officials, including police officers.
If previously the Moldovan negotiator refused to admit the existence of criminal cases, today he has said that now Moldova is ready to promote the settlement of this issue, and success depends on Pridnestrovie's position on other issues which have also been politicised by Moldova — the cultivation of land in the Dubossary District and the functioning of Romanian-language schools in the PMR.
«We see no problem in discussing these issues, but we believe that it is this fact that will enable us to make progress in the issues of land use and schools, create real preconditions for criminal cases to be resolved step by step," said Balan.
The sides also discussed issues related railway problems, including the resumption of fuel importation via the northern railway branch, the recognition of Pridnestrovian university certificates, the removal of ammonia from the PMR and some others.
