MOSCOW: Transnistria, a breakaway part of Moldova, has pro-Russian rebel officials who have appealed to Russia for “protection” on Wednesday. They are concerned that the territory may turn into a new hotspot in Moscow’s battle with neighboring Ukraine.
In response, Russia stated that safeguarding the small area of land—which is recognized globally as Moldova but has been under de facto pro-Russian authority since the fall of the Soviet Union—was one of its “priorities.”
Pro-Russian separatists’ “propaganda statements” were also rejected by the Moldovan government, which added that the area “benefits from the policies of peace, security, and economic integration with the European Union.”
Only the seventh special congress in the region’s history was held, and during it, legislators approved a motion requesting that Russia’s parliament “protect” Transnistria from growing Moldovan pressure. They said that in an effort to turn Transnistria into a “ghetto,” the Chisinau, Moldovan administration had declared a “economic war” against it by obstructing essential imports.
The breakaway republic’s head of foreign policy, Vitaly Ignatiev, told the gathering, “The choices made by the current congress cannot be ignored by the international community.”
“We are discussing a request for diplomatic backing,” he subsequently stated on Russian state television. The resolution was passed while Ukraine is experiencing military defeats and just one day before President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to deliver his yearly speech to Russian MPs.
The last time the separatist region convened as a congress was in 2006, when representatives announced a referendum on joining Russia. There was a resounding majority in favor of the vote.
The appeal for assistance from Moscow has sparked parallels with the February 2022 call for protection made by insurgents backed by Russia in eastern Ukraine against what they claimed were constant bombardment and shelling by Kyiv’s army.
