Transnistrian president tells Europeans they are infringing rights of Transnistria

President of Transnistria  Yevgeny Shevchuk and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Moldova Ulrike Maria Knotz have met in Tiraspol and discussed the development  of cooperation between the two countries, the Transnistrian president’s press-office said.  The meeting was initiated by the German Embassy in Moldova.

Shevchuk expressed concern over Moldova’s attempts to create obstacles to the operation of the Transnistrian enterprises, political persecution of the Transnistrian officials as well as their arrests abroad after putting them on an international wanted list.  “Such approaches do not contribute to confidence building and dialogue. They lead the negotiations to a deadlock,”   Shevchuk said.

In addition, the sides discussed issues related to the international trade, the prospects of the Transnistrian producers in the European market. The Transnistrian president and the German ambassador came out for finding solutions to the problems not to allow the economy of Transnistria to decline even more and, consequently, deteriorate the living conditions of the local population.

In the course of the dialogue, Shevchuk welcomed the active cooperation of the German embassy and the government of the unrecognized republic. “Direct cooperation help provide impartial information on the situation in Transnistria. It is important and valuable for us. The parties cooperate also in the social field. For instance, they implement a project of reconstruction of the water supply and waste water disposal systems in Dubossarsky region,” Shevchuk said.

For conclusion, the sides said the meeting was constructive and substantial.

 On July 22, another European delegation visited Tiraspol. The Transnistrian Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting with Acting Head of the British Embassy in Moldova Neil Martin. The Embassy representatives introduced the projects to be implemented within the near future. In addition, the representatives of the Ministry and the British Embassy discussed a range of pressing issues of mutual interest. Deputy Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatyev said  Transnistria welcomes aspiration of Britain to support direct bilateral contacts with Transnistria to get first hand information on the current situation in the country.