AFP
The 7th Congress of People’s Deputies of all levels of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (PMR) adopted a declaration on February 28, which states the need to address the Federation Council and the State Duma «with a request to implement measures to protect Transnistria in conditions of increased pressure from Moldova, taking into account the fact that more than 220,000 Russian citizens permanently reside on its territory». It also notes that the republic is experiencing unprecedented challenges and threats of economic, military-political and socio-humanitarian nature. PMR Foreign Minister Vitaliy Ignatiev specified that the MPs appealed to Russia because it is one of the international mediators in the Transnistrian settlement process in the 5+2 format.
Let me remind you that the two main participants in the format are Chisinau and Tiraspol. The «Five» consists of the USA and the EU as observers, Russia, the OSCE and Ukraine as mediators in the negotiations.
Russia, by the way, is not the only one to whom the message is addressed. The declaration states the need to send similar appeals to the UN Secretary General, CIS, European Parliament, OSCE and other organizations with a request to prevent further escalation in relations between Chisinau and Tiraspol, «to make efforts to prevent Moldovan pressure and violation of rights and freedoms of Transnistrians».
In particular, this refers to the «economic war» unleashed by Chisinau. On January 1, the new Moldovan Customs Code came into force. Now Transnistrian businessmen have to pay duty on general grounds and can obtain authorization documents for export-import operations only by registering at the State Services Agency. That is, by entering the Moldovan legislative field. From the point of view of the Reintegration Bureau in Chisinau, the innovations will help to gradually include Transnistria into the common economic space.
In general, the European Union considers this region almost a «gray smuggling zone». Since 1990, when the PMR proclaimed its independence, but it was not recognized by any UN country, this region has been forced to conduct foreign economic activity on behalf of Moldova. However, most export-import transactions passed through the self-proclaimed republic’s border with Ukraine, which Chisinau did not control. But after the beginning of the Special military operation, Ukraine closed these checkpoints, forcing Transnistrian business to use the channels provided by Moldova. But even then it retained some privileges. The new code blocked these opportunities.
On the topic: last December, the Council of Europe decided to start negotiations with Moldova (together with Ukraine) on accession to the EU. One of the main requirements — no «gray zones» on the left bank of the Dniester!
Germany’s position is indicative. The head of diplomacy Annalena Baerbock in social network X drew parallels between the current situation in Transnistria and the situation in eastern Ukraine. «For a number of years, Russia has been using minorities in Ukraine for its own purposes. By using separatists in Moldova, Putin is betting on the same transparent scenario», she wrote. And added: «Moldova is not alone, it has strong friends. No country is Russia’s backyard and it cannot be destabilized».
As for Baerbok, I cannot refrain from digressing, indirectly related to Moldova. Recently she visited Ukraine (for the seventh time, it seems!). This time — Odessa and Nikolaev. The German media ridiculed her visit. First, in Odessa, the Ukrainian escorts took her to a bomb shelter for a quarter of an hour after a (real?) air-raid alarm. Then, when Annalena’s cortege was moving through the Nikolaev region far away from the line of contact, they scared her with a message that an “enemy drone” was monitoring the movement. The trip was interrupted. She was promptly transferred to an armored vehicle, which rushed … yes, you guessed it — to the Moldovan border. And successfully crossed it. Of course, not in the zone of the rebellious PMR.
However, let us return to the intrigues of the German Foreign Ministry, whose representative accused Russia of violating the 2018 UN resolution by «keeping troops in the Transdniestrian part of Moldova».
As for the military component, the Moldovan army has been conducting exercises non-stop for the last six months, including with the participation NATO contingents from Romania and Great Britain. At the same time, it is being rearmed. For these purposes, Chisinau has received €47 million from the EU. Germany also intends to help Moldova, having promised a batch of drones. Hello from Baerbock?
As for the «Russian military presence», units of the former 14th Army, which has the status of Operational Group of Russian Troops in the Transnistrian region (from 2,000 to 2,500 servicemen), and peacekeepers (about 450 people) remain in the PMR.
In the place Cobasna there is a large Russian military warehouse to which ammunition from the GDR and Czechoslovakia was transported.
«There is a myth that supposedly a huge amount of ammunition and military equipment is stored there, which, if exploded, will destroy all living things within a radius of up to 100 kilometers», retired aviation colonel and politician Viktor Alksnis said. According to his data, Cobasna had 42,000 tons of ammunition in 2000. In the 2000s, 24,000 tons were removed by agreement between the Russian Defense Ministry and the PMR leadership. Now about 18 thousand tons remain here. Most of them are obsolete arsenal of the World War II period, ammunition with expired shelf life. A small amount of defective armored vehicles of obsolete models remains. A lot of aerial bombs have been stored, which are hardly of interest to Kiev, which is looking at the warehouses because of the shortage of airplanes in the UAF.
Now about the reaction of the Russian authorities to the appeal of the Transnistrian deputies. The Foreign Ministry noted that protecting the interests of Transnistrian residents, a significant number of whom are Russian compatriots, is a priority. All requests from Tiraspol are considered with attention by the Russian specialized agencies.
State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin said that once the PMR appeal is received, it will be analyzed by the Duma Council on the basis of consultations with the President and the Foreign Ministry.
The first deputy chairman of the Defense Committee of the Council of the Duma, Vladimir Chizhov, said that Russia would provide Transnistria with support and assistance that would be proportional to the challenges.