(RIA Novosti) - Russia's railroad monopoly has threatened to cut rail links with Moldova if the ex-Soviet state fails to resume transit via its breakaway region in five days' time, a popular Russian daily said Friday.
Vremya Novostei said Russian Railways' move represents the Kremlin's support for conditions proposed by Transdnestr, which has a largely Russian-speaking population, for the resumption of peace talks with Moldova, reports Trend.
Russian Railways (RZD) says it has had to send its trains on a detour round the left bank of the Dnestr river since the introduction of customs restrictions against the breakaway province, and that this has disrupted its traffic schedules in the region.
RZD President Vladimir Yakunin said Thursday that the monopoly could cut transport links with Russia's former Soviet ally as of early November, the paper said.
Ukraine demanded in March that Transdnestrian exports pass customs clearance in Moldova before they are allowed across the Ukrainian border, saying the move is designed to counter smuggling. Moscow criticized the decision, and Transdnestr called it a blockade, and a conspiracy between Moldova and Ukraine.
But in September, Ukraine played into the hands of Moscow and Transdnestr, by closing a railroad bridge across the Dnestr River for repairs, causing major passenger and cargo traffic disruptions, the newspaper said.
Moldova was forced to allow Russian and Ukrainian transit trains to pass through its breakaway region, as the only remaining rail route outside Transdnest could not cope with the traffic. But Moldova itself is not using the shorter route via Transdnestr, citing security concerns and inadequate security guarantees from Moscow, according to the paper.
"We are writing letters, and the Moldovan side is responding with letters," the paper quoted Yakunin as saying. "But its position is not acceptable to us, and our viewpoint has not been accepted in Moldova."
The paper says Transdnestr, which broke away from Moldova in the 1990s and has recently asked Russia for recognition and eventual annexation, has stepped up contacts with Moscow in the run-up to presidential elections, slated in the province for December 10.
Transdnestrian President Igor Smirnov said Thursday he will not resume talks with Moldova on the status of the unrecognized republic, which stalled over customs restrictions in March, until the transit dispute is resolved, the daily reported.
Chisinau, in turn, has approached the European Union, the United States, and the OSCE - which are involved in the peace talks, along with Russia and Ukraine - for help in securing Ukraine's consent to reopen the bridge as soon as possible, which would allow it to avoid resuming transit via Transdnestr.
The paper says further developments seem to depend on Ukraine's decision.