Transnistria asked not to join Russia, but for help due to economic pressure

Deputies of all levels of the unrecognized Transnistria (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic — PMR) at the congress appealed for help to the Federation Council and the State Duma of Russia, as well as to the Organization of the OSCE, the CIS, the European Parliament, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Secretary General of the United Nations with a call to influence the leadership of Moldova so that it returns to dialogue with Tiraspol and "ceased to violate the rights and freedoms" of the residents of Transnistria.

This is reported by NewsMaker and Novosti Pridnestrovya.

Deputies voted for seven appeals to the above bodies. They are talking about the need to prevent provocations that lead to an escalation of tensions. No specific examples were given there.

In a statement, local deputies emphasized that Moldova had launched an "economic war" against PMR, and also accused Chisinau of deliberately blocking negotiations with Tiraspol. Since the beginning of 2024, Chisinau canceled customs benefits for Transnistrian entrepreneurs — this caused them losses. The head of the PMR Vadym Krasnosilskyi called the customs a "medieval tribute", and the regional authorities organized large protests in Tiraspol.

Krasnosilskyi announced that he would convene a congress of deputies of all levels (district, city, village and village councils) on February 28 in Tiraspol.

Such congresses are rare for PMR. In 1990-1991 there were four such events at which "independence" was announced. In 1995, the "constitution" was approved, and in 2006, at the last congress to date, a referendum was announced, as a result of which Transnistrians supported the future accession of the PMR to Russia.

Transnistrian oppositionist Gennadiy Chorba assumed that at the congress a request "on behalf of the citizens" to accept Transnistria into Russia would be voiced, and the very next day, February 29, Putin would allegedly announce this "request" in his address to the Federal Assembly, which would then vote in an accelerated manner by. No such appeals were approved today.

On February 25, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that the information that PMR will be asked to join the Russian Federation is not true.

Reaction of Moldova

The spokesman of the Moldovan government Daniel Vodă said that the congress of Transnistrian deputies and its decisions do not pose a threat of escalation and destabilization. He called the event in Tiraspol a purely propaganda "event that does not deserve live broadcasts by foreign journalists and tense headlines," reports "European Truth."

• Transnistria is an administrative unit within Moldova that has the status of autonomy. In 1990, PMR declared sovereignty over this territory. In connection with this, an armed conflict began between Moldova and the self-proclaimed republic. In the summer of 1992, hostilities ended. In the mid-1990s, a contingent of Russian peacekeeping forces was sent to Transnistria. The political conflict has not yet been resolved. The world community does not recognize the independence of Transnistria. In 2022, after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized Transnistria as Russian-occupied territory.