Moldovan breakaway region appeals to Russia as a spat with the pro-Western government worsens
Officials in Moldova’s Russia-backed breakaway region of Transnistria have appealed to Moscow for protection as tensions escalate with the pro-Western government
CHISINAU, Moldova — Officials in Moldova’s Russia-backed breakaway region of Transnistria appealed to Moscow for protection Wednesday, as tensions escalate with the pro-Western government.
Moldova, a candidate to join the European Union, imposed new customs duties on Jan. 1, 2024 on imports to and exports from Transnistria, which borders Ukraine and isn't recognized by any U.N. member countries, including Russia, which maintains close ties to the region.
On Wednesday, members of the Transnistrian congress used a rare meeting in the regional capital, Tiraspol, to ask the Russian Duma to “implement measures for defending Transnistria amid increasing pressure from Moldova, given the fact that more than 220,000 Russian citizens reside in Transnistria."
A short war in the early 1990s led pro-Russia forces in Transnistria to declare a breakaway state. To this day, Russia stations about 1,500 troops in the region as so-called peacekeepers, who guard huge Soviet-era weapons and ammunition stockpiles.
Moldova is working to align its economic legislation with the EU as it pursues full membership in the 27-nation bloc. But the new customs duties leveled on Transnistria have angered officials there, who say the measures harm local residents and businesses.
In a declaration read out on Wednesday, officials in Tiraspol also appealed to the European Parliament to prevent what it described as pressure from Moldova from «violating the rights and freedoms” of local residents. They made similar appeals to the U.N. secretary-general, the European Parliament and the International
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