Chisinau, Moldova

Pro-Russian separatist officials in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria, on Wednesday (Feb 28), held a rare meeting of its special congress and passed a resolution which sought Moscow’s “protection” against the Chisinau government. The Moldovan government said that it rejected “propaganda statements” from the region’s officials who are trying to gain headlines. 

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Transnistria asks Russia for ‘protection’

Transnistria, long seen as a flashpoint with Russia in Europe, held a rare meeting of the “congress of deputies of all levels,” on Wednesday. 

During this meeting, the pro-Russian officials of the unrecognised statelet passed a resolution saying that it would appeal to both houses of the Russian parliament to “protect Transnistria in the face of increasing pressure from Moldova”. 

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The rare meeting came a month after Moldova introduced customs regulations requiring the Transnistria companies to pay import duties into the Moldovan budget.

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Transnistria has maintained its three-decade-long autonomy from Moldova thanks to support from Russia, which has sent more than a thousand of its troops since a brief war in 1992.

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The region’s officials alleged that the Moldovan government in Chisinau had unleashed an “economic war” against Transnistria by blocking vital imports to turn it into a “ghetto”. 

“The decisions of the current congress cannot be ignored by the international community,” said Transnistria’s foreign policy chief Vitaly Ignatiev during the meeting. 

He later also told Russian media that they were “talking about an appeal for diplomatic support.”

‘Propaganda statements’

Moldova’s government swiftly rejected the resolution and called it “propaganda statements” from pro-Russian separatists. 

The government “recalls that the Transnistrian region benefits from the policies of peace, security and economic integration with the European Union, which are beneficial for all citizens,” Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Serebrian wrote on Telegram. 

The Moldovan government also downplayed the concerns saying “things look calm” in Chisinau and that there “is no danger of escalation and destabilisation of the situation in the Transnistrian region. This is another campaign to create hysteria.” 

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“This is a propaganda event, a trap that does not deserve the attention of foreign journalists or sensational headlines in news bulletins,” Moldovan government spokesman Daniel Voda had said before the resolution was passed. 

Russia makes region its ‘priority’

Speaking about the resolution, the Russian foreign ministry said defending the interests of Transnistria is their priority and that the request would be reviewed carefully, reported news agency RIA. 

Moldova has previously accused Russia of stoking tensions in Transnistria which is a primarily Russian-speaking region and heavily relies on Moscow for support. 

Chisinau has also expressed concerns that the Kremlin could use Transnistria to open a new front amid its ongoing war with Ukraine, in Moldova’s southwest near Odesa. 

(With inputs from agencies)