Residents of Transdniestia need to re-register road vehicles - Dodon
CHISINAU. Jan 24 (Interfax) - Moldovan President Igor Dodon has called on owners of road vehicles in Transdniestria to undergo re-registration and receive 'neutral numbers' for their vehicles.
The president said in his traditional weekly speech on his YouTube channel and on social networks on Friday that the Moldovan authorities had banned Transdniestrian vehicles from leaving Moldova with the numbers of the self-proclaimed Transdniestrian Republic in a test mode from January 10 to January 20.
"This creates some problems. We cancelled that test mode, there are no problems at this stage. But in the future all owners of road vehicles in Transdniestria need to get 'neutral' numbers for their vehicles. That's why we have found this solution. Everyone needs to speed up the procedure, receive 'neutral' numbers. Otherwise there are periodic problems with going to Ukraine, to the EU countries, it's impossible to go there. It's much better to receive 'neutral' numbers and have freedom to travel to all countries," Dodon said.
According to earlier reports, only Transdniestrian vehicles with neutral numbers and the driving licenses of recognized states were allowed to go abroad on January 10-20.
The Moldovan Reintegration Bureau referred to the Protocol of April 24, 2018, which conditioned international travel by Transdniestrian drivers on having vehicles with neutral license plates and an MD sticker, issued upon registration at special posts in Tiraspol and Ribnita, on the windshield. The rule did not apply to trucks and public transportation.
Transdniestria said it would prohibit cars with Moldovan license plates from crossing the Moldovan-Ukrainian border on the Transdniestrian section of border starting January 24, in retaliation for Chisinau's ban on international travel by cars with Transdniestrian license plates and drivers with Transdniestrian driver's licenses.
Moldovan President Igor Dodon and leader of the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic Vadim Krasnoselsky discussed the issue during a phone conversation on January 17. Dodon later said "the government's decision was effective in a test mode over the course of ten days and it was reversed from January 20."
At the same time, Ukraine said it intends to ban road vehicles with registration numbers of the self-proclaimed Transdniestrian Republic from entering its territory from April 1, 2020.
Moldova has registered registering and issued 'neutral' numbers to Transdniestrian road vehicles since September 1, 2018. Some three percent of all road vehicles registered in Transdniestria have now re-registered.