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Transdniestria fears destabilization ahead of parliamentary polls — security services

The situation on the Transdniestria-Ukrainian section of the border and in the security zone which separates the Transdniestria Republic from Moldova can be described as stably tense

TIRASPOL, August 17 /TASS/. The president of Moldova’s unrecognized Transdniestria Republic, Yevgeny Shevchuk, on Monday met Mikhail Lapitsky, the head of the State Security Committee of the Transdniestria Republic, to discuss possible destabilization of the internal situation ahead of the forthcoming autumn parliamentary elections in the republic, Shevchuk’s press service said.

"The State Security Committee chief reported that a number of non-governmental organizations and individual citizens who want to misinform the local population with an aim to enlist voters’ support ahead of the forthcoming elections have stepped up their activities. The president said that such facts should be made public," the presidential press service said in its statement.

"Some employees of municipal and state institutions are also engaged in the misinformation campaign," the press service said.

"As for external factors, the situation on the Transdniestria-Ukrainian section of the border and in the security zone which separates the Transdniestria Republic from Moldova can be described as stably tense. All the instruments necessary for maintaining security are functioning normally," the report said.

Earlier, Shevchuk said that Ukraine had concentrated from 5,000 to 7,000 of its troopers on the border with the Transdniestria region. He described that as an "unfriendly step."

Economic security was also part of the agenda at Shevchuk’s meeting with the State Security Committee chief of the Transdniestria Republic. According to the local government, the republic’s budget has dwindled by almost 30% since the start of 2015. The government was forced to introduce austerity measures in March. Salaries and pensions have been cut by third.

The Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized Transdniestria Republic has recently accused Moldova of an economic blockade and the creation of artificial barriers for the Transdniestria Republic’s imports and exports.

"As a result, enterprises are coming to a standstill; budget revenues are falling and poverty among ordinary people is spreading," the press service said in its report.

Parliamentary elections are to take place in the Transdniestria region in November simultaneously with elections to local government bodies.

Presidential elections are due to be held in the Transdniestria region in 2016.