Moldova holds talks with pro-Russian separatists over new tax regulations

• 17 January, 07:22

Moldova is holding negotiations with its pro-Russian separatist Transnistria region over the imposition of customs and duties and imports from the region.

Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister, Oleg Serebrean said the talks held in Transdniesria’s main city Tiraspol were focused on the next tax regime and have been “quite difficult”.

"The meeting in Tiraspol took place in quite a difficult situation, both in national and regional terms," Serebrean told a news conference in the capital, Chisinau. "But I cannot say that the meeting produced no results. We did get results."

The senior official dismissed reports that the new tax regulations that are part of the country’s efforts to join the European Union, would hurt the separatist region’s business. He stressed that the new rules involved a slight increase in duty, adding that Transdniesria’s residents would benefit from schools and medical facilities from the rest of the country.

Transnistria, an internationally-recognized part of Moldova, broke away from the country after the war in 1990. The de-facto government in the region has been It has an estimated 2,000 Russian soldiers. The separatist region’s demand for independence has not been recognized by the international community. Three decades of negotiations between Transnistria and Chisinau have yielded almost no results.

Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu earlier said that Chisinau could press ahead with its bid to join the EU without Transdniestria.