Common border crossing point Kuchurgan-Pervomaysk to be set up in late May-early June

Chisinau, 28 April /MOLDPRES/- The common border crossing point Kuchurgan-Pervomaysk will be set up in late May – early June. Deputy Foreign and European Integration Minister Lilian Darii made the statement today.

The official said that purpose of the joint control is to facilitate the movement of goods, transport and people. “This control will not harm the interests of economic agents and private people in the Transnistrian region, on the contrary, it will lead to boosting import and export operations in the region by reducing the time of customs control and transit time. At the same time, the joint control point will contribute to combating the illegal migration, smuggling and cross-border crimes”, Darii said.

He noted that establishment of the post will be carried out in two stages. “At the first stage, about six months, representatives of the Border Police Department will monitor the flow of people crossing the border. At the same time, the Customs Service will perform customs clearance operations in the Transnistrian region, which will allow the economic agents to clear their goods at this point and avoid longer routes. The second stage will provide the joint activity of the Moldovan Customs Service with the Ukrainian security forces on cross-border traffic of goods for import, export, people and means of transport. Goods imported in the Transnistrian region will not be subjected to phytosanitary and veterinary control, responsibility for food security being left to the Tiraspol structures” he said.

At the same time, the official noted that “statements made by so-called authorities in the region on enormous losses to the economy and region’s budget of tens of millions of dollars annually, caused by joint control, are without foundation”.

Tiraspol’s political representative Vitaly Ignatiev has earlier said that the initiative to set up a common crossing point would be a destructive one. “I called on Chisinau authorities to refuse to carry out this initiative, which can lead to different economic problems and may affect free movement of people and means of transport. At the same time, the joint control can influence security, as the situation will arise when the two sides are in immediate proximity. This is not regulated in any way. Thus, the establishment of joint control is a major risk”, he said.

There are currently four common border crossing points: Briceni-Rososeni, Criva-Mamaliga, Larga-Chelmenți and Giurgiulesti-Reni.

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor L. Alcază)