Meeting of the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky with Russian diplomats was held at the presidential executive office. The delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was headed by Vitaly Tryapitsyn, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry. He was accompanied by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov, Co-Chairman of the JCC from the Russian Federation Alexander Andreev, and Vitaly Tryapitsyn's assistant Arif Gadzhiev. The PMR Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev took part in the working discussion.
Vadim Krasnoselsky emphasized the importance of the meeting, noting that 220 thousand Russian citizens living in Pridnestrovie and hundreds of thousands of compatriots are waiting for solutions to pressing issues. “The more Pridnestrovie is isolated, the more difficult the situation around Pridnestrovie is, the more people want to feel closeness with Russia”, said Vadim Krasnoselsky. The President spoke about various directions, spheres and forms of Pridnestrovian-Russian interaction, focused on the complexities of economic cooperation, aggravated by the current geopolitical realities.
The PMR President referred to the problems of consular services for Pridnestrovians who have Russian citizenship among the most important issues requiring urgent solutions. Vadim Krasnoselsky outlined the essence of the problem, recalled the events that led to the current state of affairs, spoke about the consequences of a long downtime in the work of the Tiraspol consular service point and a reduction in the staff of the institution. Vadim Krasnoselsky said that only one consul has been receiving, and three employees are doing technical work from the moment when the consular office resumed work after the pandemic. The PMR President expressed gratitude in absentia to the specialist who conducts the reception at the consular office, calling the load on him prohibitive. Vadim Krasnoselsky recalled the queue of thousands of citizens who needed to replace Russian passports, which had expired, noting that the Pridnestrovian side had repeatedly declared its readiness to provide the consular post with the missing personnel. There is an opportunity to involve both Pridnestrovian Russians and Russian citizens temporarily residing on the territory of Pridnestrovie, for example, family members of Russian military personnel serving to ensure peace on the Dniester.
The PMR President focused on the difficulties faced by people who have become hostages of the situation. In addition to the restrictions on traveling outside the republic, getting a Russian pension turned out to be a problem. The flow of citizens' appeals to the Pridnestrovian leadership is growing along with the number of applications not considered by the consular post. Vadim Krasnoselsky considers the dissatisfaction of the people justified, since we are talking about a violation of constitutional rights, which are the same for all citizens of the country, regardless of their place of residence. The PMR President noted that he had sent six official letters to the Russian leadership and the Russian Foreign Ministry on the aforementioned issues during two years. In this regard, parliamentarians and public activists of Pridnestrovie appealed to various Russian structures and authorities. The issue has not moved forward.
As for obtaining Russian citizenship, the situation here is no less critical. The simplified procedure introduced in March 2020 has been cancelled. There is practically not registration of applicants for citizenship, even those who have undeniable grounds. There are about 60 thousand applicants in the queue. “I personally have written more than twenty letters to the Foreign Ministry, the State Duma, the Federation Council, and the leadership of the Russian Federation over the past four years. There is no movement on this issue - neither yes, nor no, nothing. This is a completely wrong position, in my opinion. There should be at least some answer: we can’t give, the situation is not the same for us, we don’t see any grounds for compatriots to obtain Russian citizenship – this will be some kind of position. So, how can I understand? What to do with this this? Citizens contact me. What should I tell them? I have to give an intelligible answer. There is not any answers today. At the same time, we see that citizens of other states are accepted into the citizenship of the Russian Federation according to a simplified scheme,” said Vadim Krasnoselsky.
Vitaly Tryapitsyn spoke about the inviolability of historically established ties and various aspects of bilateral cooperation. The Russian diplomat, who officially represents the Russian side in the process of settling the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian relations, called the exchange of views on the assessment of the current situation the main purpose of his visit. He called the state of affairs in the negotiation process difficult, stating that the dialogue is stalling, the work of the “5 + 2” format has been on pause for a long time.
Vadim Krasnoselsky noted the following on this occasion: “The dialogue must be continued - for the sake of peace. Naturally, the dialogue is hampered by the lack of work in the “5 + 2” format. The final meeting was canceled due to the fault of the Moldovan side, it was fall 2019. There are practically no chances for holding meetings of participants in the “Permanent Conference…” format since then, under various pretexts: pandemic, hostilities. As I said earlier, there should be “1+1” contacts if the “5+2” format is not possible. There are political representatives, there is a president, there are other Moldovan officials who must speak, must develop compromise solutions on those issues that are not being resolved today. There are contacts of course, but there is no breakthrough. Naturally, we must use any contacts to guarantee peace and security – this is one of the most important factors”. The President said that all foreign interlocutors without exception, with whom he discusses during working meetings, including those representing the “5 + 2” format, speak of the primacy of ensuring peace. The PMR President considers it expedient in this regard to document this position. “There is an idea to appeal to all participants of the “5 + 2” format. To draw up a single document on the guarantees of peace and security of Pridnestrovie, let everyone sign it, since they are talking about peace. Let them put their signature and thereby guarantee peace on our land. Let all those who talk about peace prove their desire with a signature – this will be a joint statement of all participants in the “5 + 2” format on a guarantee of security in Pridnestrovie”, Vadim Krasnoselsky suggested.
Speaking about the negotiating agenda, Vadim Krasnoselsky noted that it is well known to everyone and remains relevant. The PMR President emphasized that many aspects need to be viewed in a new light after Moldova's application for membership in the European Union. The vectors of Moldova and Pridnestrovie are bipolar. Pridnestrovie made its choice in 2006 during a national referendum, but Moldova has never in its history asked the opinion of the people, reminded Vadim Krasnoselsky.
The theme of peacekeeping did not go unnoticed by the participants of the meeting. “We will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the peacekeeping operation in Pridnestrovie these days. The project is unique, the mission is joint. The peacekeepers of Pridnestrovie and the peacekeepers of Moldova also participate in it in addition to the peacekeepers of Russia. There were observers from Ukraine, but so far they have been temporarily withdrawn from Pridnestrovie. However, the basic component is the Russian Federation. This format has shown the highest degree of its effectiveness in maintaining peace and security in Pridnestrovie over the 30 years of its existence. Everyone understands this, even those who vote in Europe for the recognition of the territory of Pridnestrovie as occupied by the Russian Federation. They understand perfectly well that Russia guarantees peace here. Then what, is war needed? Are those who want the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces thinking about war? Everyone is talking about the peace although. That is why I want an appropriate document to be signed to guarantee peace. The Pridnestrovian people and the leadership of Pridnestrovie are grateful to Russia for maintaining peace and security in Pridnestrovie. I am sure that peacekeepers should continue to be the guarantor of peace and security in Pridnestrovie,” Vadim Krasnoselsky emphasized.
They spoke in the course of the meeting about the recent terrorist attacks that took place in the republic. Vadim Krasnoselsky spoke about the progress of the investigation, intermediate results and conclusions. Other issues of interest to the meeting participants were also discussed.
