Tiraspol, December 17. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. In the near future, a meeting on the banking problem with the participation of Pridnestrovian enterprises and representatives of banks of Moldova is planned. A large-scale seminar is also expected on this issue, in which international experts will participate. This was announced by PMR Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev, commenting on the results of the meeting of the political representatives of Pridnestrovie and Moldova in Chisinau at a press briefing.
“I hope that these meetings will provide impetus to the resolution of this issue and, possibly, in the very near future we will see a more specific position of Chisinau,” the PMR Foreign Minister said.
As Ignatiev emphasized, the Moldovan side recognized the existence of a banking problem. The OSCE also considers it important to resolve this issue. Earlier, the organization invited an international expert Ms. Ilse Schuster to look into the situation. During the Bavarian Conference in November, the expert confirmed the existence of a banking problem and restrictions for the enterprises of Pridnestrovie from Moldova.
“A certain dynamic is being observed, but we need concrete results, I hope this week we will see something more tangible,” the PMR Foreign Minister summed up.
The National Bank of Moldova (NBM) has been restricting the activities of Pridnestrovian banks since 2002, forcing them out of the financial market of Moldova.
In 2011, at the request of Chisinau, the US Federal Treasury issued a document urging US banks to be cautious when making payments involving financial institutions of Pridnestrovie. This affected the timing, delay, and sometimes the refusal to conduct operations.
After that, the only way out of the situation was the opening by Pridnestrovian enterprises of direct accounts in banks of Moldova. This was recommended by international mediators in the negotiations on the Pridnestrovian settlement.
However, since June 2019, the banks of Moldova began to refuse the PMR enterprises to open accounts. On September 5, a banking organization which the accounts of Pridnestrovian economic agents were opened in, notified them of blocking operations. The Pridnestrovian side stated the political background of these actions and addressed the negotiators. Chisinau reduced the issue to relations between the bank and enterprises at first, then nevertheless acknowledged the existence of the problem, while still holding back on its decision.
