Tiraspol, November 16. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The Moldovan authorities are trying to use the population of Pridnestrovie as hostages to get a discount on the purchase of the Russian vaccine. This is how one can characterize the blocking of the import of the Sputnik V vaccine into Pridnestrovie by the official Chisinau.
An agreement with the Russian side on two hundred thousand doses of the Sputnik V vaccine supply to Pridnestrovie has already been concluded. Since Sputnik V is a two-component vaccine, this amount should be enough to vaccinate one hundred thousand people.
However, to deliver the vaccine through the Chisinau airport, permission from the Moldovan side is required. The Pridnestrovian state-owned enterprise LekPharm sent to the Chisinau Agency for Medicines a corresponding application and a full package of accompanying documents confirming that the expected batch of vaccine is intended for immunization of the population on a grant basis - without a commercial component. That is, it is Relief consignments.
But the problem stuck. The established two-week period for consideration of such applications has expired. This problem was raised at a meeting of specialized expert (working) groups within the framework of the negotiation process on November 9. The problem has not been resolved yet.
What Moldova FORMALLY Wants
As Novosti Pridnestrovya managed to find out, after talking with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Moldovan side officially attributes its refusal to let the shipment with the vaccine intended for Pridnestrovians to formal bureaucratic requirements. Or rather, the absence in the documents of the maximum purchase price, which would suit Chisinau. And this is although the consignment of the vaccine is Relief consignments (this requirement does not apply to them, even according to Moldovan legislation).
Nevertheless, taking into account the opinion of the Moldovan side, SUE LekPharm indicated as the maximum cost price the official export price at which the Gamalei Center sold the vaccine to Pridnestrovie. That's $ 19.95 per dose of the two-component vaccine. However, this did not suit the Moldovan agency either.
And it allegedly cannot apply its methodology for calculating the maximum cost price, since it is completely tied to prices in the EU countries where Sputnik is not sold.
It turns out that the agency itself cannot set a price by calculation, but it does not agree with the cost that SUE LekPharm indicated and paid.
It seems to be some strange bureaucratic chicanery but as it turned out, there is a real interest behind it ...
What Moldova Really Wants
According to Novosti Pridnestrovya, at the November 9 meeting, the representatives of the Moldovan side did not hide the true motives of the refusal to let relief consignments through. Chisinau is now independently negotiating with Russia on the supply of the Sputnik V vaccine to Moldova, and the price of $ 19.95 per dose does not suit them.
“The representatives of Moldova explained: if they indicate the price of 19.95 in the documents, then they will also have to buy it for this price. While the cost price for the domestic market in Russia is $ 12. Therefore, they (the Moldovan authorities) say: would the Pridnestrovian side, taking advantage of its congeniality to Russia, agree on a price of 12 dollars so that Moldova could also receive a vaccine at a similar price? Moldova will save about one and a half million dollars on two hundred thousand doses of the vaccine. The value in dispute is clear,” a source familiar with the situation says.
Blackmailing as a Negotiation Tactic
Representatives of the Moldovan side issued an ultimatum to Pridnestrovie: if the PMR does not agree with the Russian Federation on a discount on the vaccine for Moldova, then Pridnestrovie may not receive Sputnik V either.
Moreover, this is not the first time Chisinau uses such blackmailing tactics. One of the recent examples is the gas crisis that overtook Moldova this autumn. At that time, Moldovan officials publicly voiced threats to cut off gas supplies to the republic and other difficulties for trade and economic activities of the PMR if Chisinau fails to agree with Moscow.
The discussion even moved from an informal to a public one. Pridnestrovian Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev noted that during negotiations on the problem of car license plates, Moldovan political representative Vladislav Kulminsky, instead of discussing the transport blockade, insisted that Tiraspol and Chisinau turn to Moscow for gas supplies.
Now, the representatives of the Republic of Moldova have chosen the same tactics of blackmailing about the supply of vaccines. This is despite the earlier promise made by the Moldovan political representative to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
But after Vladislav Kulminsky resigned, his promises disappeared with him.
Import of Not Only Vaccines but Also Any Medications is Under Threat
In connection with the constant attempts of Chisinau to change the previously indicated position and abandon the obligations assumed, problems may soon affect not only the supply of vaccines to Pridnestrovie but also the import of any medications, the sources of Novosti Pridnestrovya note.
The registries of medicinal products in the RM and PMR differ significantly. Moldova is focused on Western medicines, Pridnestrovian pharmaceutical companies mainly import medicines from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The active substances in them are the same as in their Western counterparts, yet they are more affordable.
The question is again relevant, since on January 1, the next deferral for the introduction of the so-called second phase of joint customs clearance control in Kuchurgan will expire, which without a specific agreement between the parties will mean a blockade of Pridnestrovian imports, including medicines. While the representatives of Moldova are once again trying to reset their negotiating position. And if earlier it was about coordinating registers or importing drugs into Pridnestrovie with a guarantee that they will not be supplied to the Republic of Moldova, now the new negotiators declare that they are ready to agree on the maximum import of a list of vital drugs from no more than a hundred items. And everything else is strictly according to the Moldovan register.
It is not clear whether it will be possible to solve the problem before the new year without a representative on political issues from the Moldovan side.
But this is still a matter of the future, while the delivery of the Russian vaccine to Pridnestrovie is necessary now.
When Money is More Important Than People's Lives
Only about 30% of the adult population is vaccinated in the PMR so far. The incidence rate remains high. The load of covid-hospitals exceeds 93%. An abysmal performance was recently recorded: 25 people died from COVID-19 in the republic during the day. The total number of deaths is already approaching 1,700.
According to Rospotrebnadzor, mass vaccination is the only reliable way to defeat the disease today.
Earlier, in an interview with Radio 1, the head of the covid-hospital based on the Republican Clinical Hospital Boris Metlinsky noted that about 80% of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated citizens. Vaccinated patients, even if they go to the hospital, experience the disease more easily in most cases.
Today, we can already say with confidence that a certain and very significant part of the population of Pridnestrovie only trusts the Russian vaccine. Otherwise, the percentage of vaccinated people would have been much higher. Undoubtedly, there are people in Moldova who only prefer Sputnik V of all vaccines.
However, a situation is emerging that Chisinau, in pursuit of saving money, is not only in no hurry to provide its citizens with the vaccine they expect, but also does not allow Pridnestrovie to do so.
The Moldovan authorities have taken Pridnestrovians hostage. And they certainly hinder the fight against the pandemic, trying to achieve savings for themselves on purchases of Sputnik V. And while Chisinau continues to block vaccine supplies, people continue to die in Pridnestrovian hospitals every day. They could live if they got vaccinated on time.
Sergey Goncharov
