Ukraine Considers the Transnistrian Conflict as an Element of Hybrid War

Given the current situation in Ukraine due to the armed aggression of Russia, Ukraine considers the Transnistrian conflict as an element of a hybrid war, stated the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova Ivan Hnatyshyn in an interview with Ukrinform. He stressed that “weapons located on the territory of the Transnistrian region of Moldova pose a threat to Ukraine”, infotag.md reports. “I would like to remind you of a recent incident in the Chernihiv region, where an arsenal of weapons exploded. The success of our cooperation with Moldova depends not least on the security in both countries and in the region. Ukraine is very concerned about the situation in Transnistria, and directly in the Kolbasna village of the Rybnitsa district, where the storage of obsolete Soviet weapons and ammunition is located. After all, no one knows what it is going to happen to this arsenal of weapons in future”, the diplomat said. According to him, “for this reason, Ukraine supports the position of the Moldovan government on the need to implement the decisions of the 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria, the elimination of weapons stores, and the transformation of the peacekeeping mission into a multinational civilian peacekeeping mission . Hnatyshyn reaffirmed the invariance of the Ukrainian position: “the Transnistrian conflict should be settled peacefully on the basis of respect for the territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within internationally recognized borders”. He was also “adamantly opposed to all possible plans for the federalization of Moldova”. “It is important for us that in the long run Moldova remains a unified state, and not a geographical indication on the map”, the ambassador said. At the same time, he stressed the importance of economic freedoms granted to the Transnistrian region, including trade preferences within the framework of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. “Gradually, the region is moving towards Europe. Export of Transnistrian products to Ukraine and the EU is 40%, which significantly exceeds the volume of trade with Russia, where these figures fell to 15%. That is, it is a worthy alternative and stable markets”, the diplomat said. Source: Point