Tiraspol, November 12. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Today, an online meeting of expert (working) groups from Pridnestrovie and Moldova on railway transport and communications was held. In particular, they discussed rail freight and passenger transportation through the territory of Pridnestrovie.
The parties confirmed their mutual interest in resuming the movement of the passenger train on the Chisinau-Moscow route with stops at the Bendery-2 and Tiraspol stations, the PMR MFA press service reports.
The Moldovan side indicated its principled readiness to settle the issue of debt to the State Unitary Enterprise Pridnestrovian Railway for the sale of tickets to the Chisinau-Odessa destination. Positions on the prospects for the functioning of other passenger routes have been articulated.
“The Pridnestrovian side again raised the issue of unblocking the possibility of transporting petroleum products (fuels and lubricants) through the Slobodka-Kolbasna border crossing, but the representatives of the Republic of Moldova announced that their position remained unchanged. It should be recalled that the administrative ban introduced by the Moldovan side in the summer of 2016 contradicts the provisions of the Protocol Decision of March 30, 2012,” the PMR Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.
Also at the meeting, they discussed visionary steps, the implementation of which could lead to an increase in the volume of transit cargo, in which there is a joint interest. In particular, the Pridnestrovian side explained that the State Unitary Enterprise PRW has established a minimum tariff for the indicated service and offered the State Enterprise Moldovan Railway to make a corresponding discount on the Kuchurgan-Galati section.
“The Pridnestrovian side announced its initiative to use the locomotive application of the State Unitary Enterprise PRW for the delivery of goods on the Slobodka-Rybnitsa section with the provision of a corresponding discount of 25% from the Republic of Moldova, and also outlined the historical issue of the unreasonableness of the State Enterprise Moldovan Railway charging tariffs for the delivery of goods on the consignee`s rail (that is, for the transportation process, actually carried out by the forces and means of the State Unitary Enterprise PRW),” the Pridnestrovian Foreign Ministry said.
At the end of the meeting, Pridnestrovian experts raised the issue of extending the validity period of the Protocol Decision of March 30, 2012, as a positive signal for business.
The parties agreed to continue the dialogue at the level of expert (working) groups, as well as the leadership of the railway administrations of Pridnestrovie and Moldova.
Let's remind: the railway transportation service passing through the territory of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic was interrupted in March 2006. This happened as a result of new rules for the passage of goods across the border introduced on March 3, 2006, by Moldova and Ukraine, which led to an economic blockade of Pridnestrovie. The trains were bound for the north of Moldova, bypassing the territory of the PMR.
In December 2006, with the assistance of the Russian Federation, the movement of the Moscow-Chisinau passenger train was resumed.
On March 30, 2012, a protocol decision was signed on the resumption of rail freight traffic. At the same time, the border crossing on the Ukrainian-Pridnestrovian border Slobodka-Kolbasna is still closed for the import of fuels and lubricants. This problem is one of the issues on the negotiating agenda.
