TIRASPOL, May 5. /TASS/. Moldova imposed sanctions against Transnistria’s foreign minister Vitaly Ignatyev to push him away from negotiations on the settlement of the Transnistrian problem, Vadim Krasnoselsky, president of the unrecognized republic, said in an interview with TASS as he commented on the "separatism law" passed by the Moldovan parliament, which allows additional inspections and potential arrests of officials and ordinary Transnistrian residents in Moldova.

"Chisinau is fully aware of all restrictions, probably, fully aware of its law 'on separatism,' fully aware of the restrictions in the airport of Chisinau. Regarding Mr. Ignatyev, special restrictions have been imposed on him. Everyone is fully aware of that. And due to those restrictions Mr. Ignatyev cannot leave the territory of Transnistria now. This has been done artificially. I won’t name proponents of this plot, so to say, but nevertheless, it has been ensured that Ignatyev would virtually be pushed away from the negotiation process as much as possible," Krasnoselsky said.

"This is why I suggest that all restrictions be removed for Mr. Ignatyev to freely move and become a direct participant of the negotiation process. This is normal practice," he added.

In 2023, Moldova’s parliament passed amendments to the Criminal Code envisaging punishment for "separatism" and "a plot against Moldova". Parliament speaker Igor Grosu said then that sanctions for separatism were meant to make Transnistrian officials more amenable at the talks with Chisinau. "Transnistrian officials expressed concern over such an approach and warned of retaliatory measures."