Ukraine Blockades Export from Transdniestria
The Ukrainian customs suspended servicing cargos from Transdniestria on Friday demanding that all the cargos from the restive republic be registered in the territory of Moldova. Transdniestrian authorities accused Kiev of imposing an economic blockade. The Russian Foreign Ministry rallied with Transdniestria. Tiraspol has retaliated banning transit trucks from Ukraine passing to Moldova through Transdniestria.
New customs rules for the Ukrainian-Moldovan border were laid down by the bilateral agreement as of December 30, 2005. The document made it clear that all Transdniestrian cargo were to be registered by Moldova’s customs service whereas Transdniestria earlier was responsible for the procedure on its own. The new regulations were to come into effect in January but were put off at Tiraspol’s request. The Ukrainian government, however, made a decision to enact the law on March 1, which bound the Ukrainian customs to suspend processing Transdniestrian cargos.
Transdniestria claims that Ukraine has introduced the rules without notifying them beforehand. A number of high-placed officials accused the neighboring state of imposing an economic blockade. “The republic’s economy is mainly based on export so Transdniestria is now in the total economic isolation,” Alexander Pavlenko, the chief of a department at the Industry Ministry of Transdniestria, said. Transdniestrian President Igor Smirnov told Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Anatoly Kinakh that “actions of Ukrainian authorities equal to an economic death in installments.”
However, Transdniestria hopes to settle the conflict soon. The republic’s Foreign Minister Valery Litskay went to Kiev on the weekend to negotiate.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted to the developments the same day calling Ukraine’s move “an attempt to apply economic pressure on Tiraspol to force it to surrender in the Trasndniestrian issue.”
Sergey Sidorenko, Kiev, Alexey Daryin, Chisinau
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 06, 2006
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