A rally was held in Bendery against Moldova’s economic pressure on Transnistria

In Bendery, residents held a rally in front of the Tkachenko Palace, demanding an end to Moldova’s economic pressure on Transnistria.

The chairman of the coordination council of the all-Pridnestrovian People's Forum, Anatoly Bulda, said that Moldova is ignoring previously reached agreements.

Bulda noted that the introduction by Moldova of VAT and excise taxes on a number of categories of goods in Transnistria will lead to an increase in the cost of goods and serious consequences in the social sphere.

TIRASPOL, September 10 - RIA Novosti. Dozens of residents of Transnistria came out to a rally in the city of Bendery in front of the Tkachenko Palace in the city center, demanding an end to economic pressure from Moldova, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

The Tkachenko Palace hosts meetings of the Joint Control Commission, the collective governing body of the peacekeeping operation on the Dniester, on Thursdays. Demonstrators with flags of Russia and the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic (PMR), as well as with posters in their hands, chant: “Moldova, stop economic pressure!”

“Moldova is ignoring the early agreements reached. You and I cannot remain silent. We must express our opinion so that the leadership of Moldova, its external curators, members of the “5+2” negotiation process see that the voice of the people exists,” said Anatoly Bulda, chairman of the coordination council of the all-Pridnestrovian People’s Forum, during the rally.

According to him, the introduction by Moldova of VAT and excise taxes on a number of categories of goods in Transnistria will lead to serious consequences in the social sphere.

“It is no secret that many elderly people live in Transnistria who receive pensions. This will lead to an increase in the cost of goods imported to the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Moldova is already slowing down the work of a number of large enterprises in Transnistria,” Bulda noted.

Earlier, Moldovan Prime Minister Vasily Tofan said that the Moldovan government had approved a resolution on the phased introduction of VAT and excise taxes on a number of categories of goods imported from Transnistria. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR previously stated that by introducing VAT on a number of categories of goods from Transnistria, Moldova chose a course of escalation.