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Ukraine invites Transnistrian president and Moldovan Prime Minister for a meetingm

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Leonid Kozhara has suggested organizing a meeting in Ukraine between Transnistrian president Yevgeny Shevchuk and Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca.

The invitation was conveyed to the Transnistrian leader by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Moldova, Sergey Pirozhkov, here on Wednesday.     

Shevchuk welcomed the initiative, but said that such meeting will be possible only if Transnistria and Moldova prepare – at the level of the sides’ Political Representatives and experts – draft agreements on a number of questions in the socio-economic sphere, first and foremost in the field of the freedom of movement for citizens.       

In such case the leaders of the sides might sign corresponding agreements at that meeting, said Yevgeny Shevchuk.   

The Ukrainian Ambassador and the Transnistrian leader discussed the problem that emerged recently when Chisinau stopped issuing permissive documents to Transnistrian transporters working on international lines. As a result, 12 local transporters had to stop working in the Odessa direction, so the Transnistrian government addressed Ukraine with a request to issue such documents directly to Tiraspol.        

“Ukraine has met all its commitments:  Kiev has sent to Chisinau all necessary permissions, so now Chisinau, according to the protocols signed, must pass about 20% of the work permits [the so-called ‘dozvols’] to Tiraspol”, stated Ambassador Sergey Pirozhkov.       

Touching on the new migration rules introduced by Moldova, which affect the holders of Russian and Ukrainian passports resigning permanently in Transnistria, the diplomat said that this question may become a subject matter of the next ordinary round of 5+2 format negotiations in Vienna.   

Sergey Pirozhkov also said that Ukraine “is raising, already officially, the question of opening a Ukrainian consulate in Tiraspol, which would let the Transnistrians, holding Ukrainian passports, receive full-fledged consular servicing”.     

Adapted from Infotag