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Transnistria to keep course towards joining Russia — top diplomat

"Transnistria's foreign policy vector remains unchanged: it is independence and subsequent accession to the Russian Federation, which was approved at the 2006 referendum," Vitaly Ignatiev said
Transnistrian Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev Press Service of Transnistrian President/CC BY 4.0
Transnistrian Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev
© Press Service of Transnistrian President/CC BY 4.0

CHISINAU, July 22. /TASS/. Transnistria maintains the course for independence with eventual accession to Russia, which was approved in the 2006 referendum, the unrecognized republic’s Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev told reporters on Friday.

"Transnistria's foreign policy vector remains unchanged: it is independence and subsequent accession to the Russian Federation, which was approved at the 2006 referendum," the minister said. This vector was supported by 98% of the participants in the plebiscite. After that, the Transnistrian Supreme Council asked the State Duma, the Federation Council and the president of Russia to recognize the republic as a sovereign independent state.

The unrecognized republic of Transnistria was established on September 2, 1990, on Moldovan territory on the left bank of Dniester River, inhabited by predominantly Russian-speakers. Local residents opposed the actions of Moldova’s radical politicians, who sought the republic’s separation from the USSR and unification with Romania. Moldovan officials attempted to resolve the situation by force, which ended up causing over 1,000 deaths in the conflict that followed, while tens of thousands were injured or became refugees.

The war came to an end after a peace deal was signed in July 1992 in Moscow, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the conflict zone. Since then, the peacekeepers have been ensuring tranquility and stability in the region in cooperation with both Moldovan and Transnistrian servicemen, which enables Chisinau and Tiraspol to hold talks to settle the conflict. The OSCE, Russia and Ukraine act as mediators and guarantors in these talks.