MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - New customs regulations introduced by Moldova are an attempt to undermine the process of the resolving the long-running dispute with the self-proclaimed republic of Transdnestr, the Russian foreign minister said Thursday.
Sergei Lavrov said the regulations were "an obvious violation of the 1997 memorandum signed by Chisinau and Tiraspol and stipulating Transdnestr's right to free economic activities, including foreign economic ties."
He said it was "an attempt to escalate the situation and cause tensions in Transdnestr" in order to undermine the current mechanisms of conflict resolution and to change the situation unilaterally.
The new customs regulations, requiring all Transdnestr goods bound for Ukraine to bear an official Moldovan stamp and simplifying the procedure of registering Transdnestr-based businesses in Moldova's capital, Chisinau, caused protests from Tiraspol and Moscow, which both regard the measure as an attempt to impose an economic blockade on the ex-Soviet state's separatist region.
The regulations were outlined in a joint communiqué adopted by the prime ministers of Ukraine and Moldova on December 30, 2005, and endorsed by the Ukrainian Cabinet in a March 1 decree.
Russia's Foreign Ministry criticized the move in a March 4 statement, saying "What Chisinau and Kiev are trying to present as [an effort to] put the border in order is actually yet another attempt to exert economic pressure on Tiraspol in order to force its political surrender on Transdnestr settlement issues."
Transdnestr's status has been a bone of contention since the armed conflict in the province broke out in March 1992 after Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union and Transdnestr in turn proclaimed itself a republic. Russia intervened in the conflict at the Moldovan president's request, and the Russian and Moldovan presidents signed a ceasefire agreement in the presence of the leader of Transdnestr in July 1992.
