Called “de facto” – became “de juro”: PACE recognized Transnistria as a zone of Russian occupation

Kremlin relations

On Tuesday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supplemented the document on the consequences of the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine with amendments that concern Transnistria. In them, the state is called the “zone of Russian occupation”.

On March 17, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of Moldova Oleg Serebin gave an interview to the “Agora” online publication. In it, he expressed the opinion of the Moldovan Government that the amendments on the situation of Transnistria signed by PACE two days earlier would not have the necessary effect. According to the Moldovan authorities, this will not contribute to a negotiated settlement of the conflict.

Source: novostipmr.com

Serebryan stressed that despite the instability of the situation in the region, Chisinau “remains determined to solve the Transnistrian issue only by peaceful means”. It is important to note that before the amendments, the PACE had already referred to Transnistria as “a territory de facto controlled by the Russian Federation”. Now, according to the deputy prime minister, new legal difficulties will be added to this, which will not necessarily lead to the launch of a new round of the negotiating process.

During the briefing, the deputy speaker of the country’s parliament, Vlad Batrincea, accused the assembly of trying to involve Moldova in the conflict in Ukraine. He said that this document had not been brought up for discussion with the Moldovan delegation.

How it all started:

The Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic was formed in 1990 after a conflict between the inhabitants of the region and the Moldovan government. Moldova sought to secede from the Soviet Union and unite with Romania. During the armed conflict, it is estimated that more than 1,000 people died and many became refugees.

Source: vnnews.ru

On the left bank of the Dniester River there is a predominantly Russian-speaking population. Therefore, following the signing of the peace settlement agreement in Moscow, peacekeepers from Russia were sent to the region. Their task was to create a favourable environment for the negotiations between Chisinau and Tiraspol. Ukraine and the OSCE are also mediators in their dialogue.

Moreover, the Russian Federation has deployed 1,500 OGR troops in the region. They were responsible for guarding ammunition depots in the Kolbasna area.