US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that the US was “very closely” monitoring the Transnistria region, which is seeking Russian help to secede from the European country of Moldova.
“Given Russia’s increasingly aggressive role in Europe, we are very closely monitoring Russia’s actions in Transnistria and the broader situation there,” Miller said at the press briefing, using the Moldovan name of the region.
Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria has appealed to Russia to help its economy withstand Moldovan “pressure” as hundreds of officials gathered on Wednesday for a congress meeting.
Moldova’s pro-European government in Chisinau dismissed the meeting as a propaganda event aimed at attracting attention and making headlines. Chisinau is the capital of the Republic of Moldova.
Miller said:
The United States resolutely supports Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and we continue to encourage Chisinau and Tiraspol to work together to address the urgent concerns of communities on both sides of the Nistru (river).
At a meeting in the regional capital Tiraspol (rarely convened here), the Russian Duma was asked to “take measures to defend Transnistria against growing pressure from Moldova, taking into account that more than 220,000 Russian citizens reside in Transnistria.”
With its sights set on European Union candidacy, Moldova imposed new customs duties on imports and exports from Transnistria, which borders Ukraine, on January 1 this year. No United Nations member state recognizes Transnistria, including Russia, which maintains close ties with the region.
But as the small autonomous state of Transnistria has been wracked by regional tensions, it has turned to Moscow, which has supported it financially and diplomatically for 30 years. Transnistria shares an eastern border with war-torn Ukraine, but has continued to deploy more than a thousand Russian troops since a brief war in 1992.
Moldova’s relationship with Russia is strained as the increasingly European Moldovan government in Chisinau maintains its pro-European regional loyalties and accuses Moscow of trying to destabilize it.
The country’s President Maia Sandu supports a peaceful solution to the separatist conflict.
Sandu says:
What the government is doing today is taking small steps towards the economic reintegration of the country.
On the other hand, as reported by the RIA news agency, Russia defended the interests of Transnistrian citizens, saying that they are a priority and that the request will be carefully examined.
