The government of the Republic of Moldova rejects the “propaganda statements” of Tiraspol, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebryan said on Wednesday in the first reaction of the authorities of Chisinau to the resolution adopted earlier in the day by the Congress of Moldova. of the so-called deputies “of all levels” from the Transnistrian region, who asked for “protection” from Moscow in the face of “increasing pressure” from the Republic of Moldova, reports Deschide.md, AFP and Agerpres.

“The Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Political Bureau of Reintegration reject the propaganda statements from Tiraspol. We want to emphasize that the Transnistrian region benefits from the policy of peace, security and European integration, which Chisinau promotes as part of its relations with the European Union,” Oleg Serebryan said in the Telegram application.

According to the Vice Prime Minister of Moldova, this policy benefits all citizens of the Republic of Moldova, regardless of whether they live on the right or left bank of the Dniester.

The congress of so-called “deputies of all levels” from Transnistria adopted a resolution on Wednesday accusing Chisinau of “economic warfare” against Tiraspol and demanding “defensive measures” from Russia in the face of alleged “increased pressure” from Chisinau. , amid tensions exacerbated by the conflict in neighboring Ukraine, AFP reports.

• Transnistria wants to be “sovereign”, accuses the Republic of Moldova of “genocide” and “asks” Moscow to come to its aid / No mention of “joining” Russia

The first of the seven points of the document refers to an appeal to the Russian authorities with a request to protect Transnistria from the so-called “economic blockade” by the Republic of Moldova.

Tiraspol’s dissatisfaction arises after the Chisinau authorities forced companies from Transnistria to pay customs duties to the budget of the Republic of Moldova from January 1.

The Transnistrian deputies also complained about the Law on separatism adopted by Chisinau. According to some of its provisions, “separatist actions committed with the aim of separating a part of the territory of the Republic of Moldova” are punishable by imprisonment from two to five years, media reports from across the Prut River.

In 2023, the export of business entities from the Transnistrian region to the countries of the European Union exceeded 70%, which is a record figure since the signing of the Association Agreement with the Republic of Moldova, increasing by more than 20% compared to 2019, according to data from the Bureau of Reintegration, Ziarul notes. Naţional from Chişinău.

Russia says it will “carefully consider” Tiraspol’s request

The reaction of Russian diplomacy did not take long, the Russian Foreign Ministry assured that for Moscow “the priority task is the protection” of the residents of Transnistria. Russia will “carefully consider” Tiraspol’s request, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, without giving further details.

The chain of these events is reminiscent of a similar situation in February 2022, when the call of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine was used by Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of the pretexts for a large-scale attack on this country, AFP comments.

• The former vice-prime minister for reintegration with the Republic of Moldova after Transnistria “asked Moscow” to come to their aid: “If they addressed the letter to the Russian deputies and not to Putin, it means that they do not want to change the status quo” in the region”

Deputies from Transnistria, who gathered in Tiraspol for an extraordinary congress, the first since 2006, appealed to the Russian parliament to “take measures to protect” this small territory, where “more than 220,000 Russian citizens live”, in the face of ” increasing pressure from part of the Republic of Moldova”.

Transnistria is facing “unprecedented threats of an economic, social-humanitarian and military-political nature,” their statement reads.

The foreign minister of the separatists, Vitaly Ignatiev, told the Russian TV channel “Russia-24” that the goal was “first of all to ask for diplomatic support from Moscow,” reports AFP.

A narrow strip of land between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, Transnistria came out of Chisinau’s jurisdiction after a brief war in 1992 against the Moldovan army. According to official data, Russia maintains an additional 1,500 troops there, mainly for peacekeeping missions.

After the Russian assault on Kyiv in February 2022, there were speculations about a possible Russian attack from Transnistria on the large Ukrainian port city of Odesa on the Black Sea.

Fears of destabilization of the Republic of Moldova

The separatist authorities claim that this congress was a reaction to Chisinau’s recent imposition of tariffs on imports from Transnistria.

In his speech, separatist leader Vadym Krasnoselsky, quoted by the local press, said that the territory was subject to a “policy of genocide” through economic, “physical”, legal and linguistic pressure.

In the resolution, the Transnistrian deputies also ask the UN General Secretariat to prevent “provocations” that could lead to “an escalation of tensions.”

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine two years ago, fears that the war could spread to Transnistria have always returned to the news.

Last year, Tiraspol accused Kyiv of wanting to attack it after it announced an assassination attempt on its leaders in March.

Last week, the Ministry of Defense of Russia again declared, without any evidence, that Ukraine was preparing an “armed provocation” against Transnistria.

With an official population of 465,000 residents, most of whom speak Russian, the independence of this territory, located along the Dniester River, is not recognized by the international community or by Moscow.

Chisinau and the European Union regularly accuse Russia of trying to destabilize the Republic of Moldova, which was once in its sphere of influence, but whose power is now firmly oriented towards Europe.

In December 2023, the EU decided to start accession negotiations with both Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, AFP reminds.

• Tiraspol’s hallucinatory accusations: the Republic of Moldova is preparing the Ukrainian military to attack Transnistria / Chisinau’s reaction: “Provocation” / Russia has been threatening reprisals for several days