Russia's State Duma Is Preparing a Statement on Transdniestria. It Mentions Sandu, Elections and "Escalation of the Conflict"

Home / News / Russia's State Duma Is Preparing a Statement on Transdniestria. It Mentions Sandu, Elections and "Escalation of the Conflict"
The faction of the United Russia party in the State Duma of the Russian Federation proposed to the deputies to consider and adopt a Resolution on the Plans and Actions of Moldova and Ukraine Threatening to Derail the Transdniestrian Conflict Settlement”. In its resolution, the faction accused President Maia Sandu and the Ukrainian authorities of the "blockade" of Transdniestria and the "destruction of the peacekeeping operation", and presented its own picture of the situation in the region. The deputies offered assistance to Russian citizens living in Transdniestria: to send a batch of coronavirus vaccine and medical equipment there, as well as to take measures to simplify the access of Transdniestrian products to the Russian market. United Russia MPs proposed to the State Duma to adopt a resolution condemning the actions taken by Sandu's supporters and the Ukrainian authorities in relation to Transdniestria. The draft was registered in the Duma on June 15. The exact date of its consideration is still unknown. “The domestic political crisis that emerged during the presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova in 2020, accompanied by open interference from Romania, the United States and other Western countries, is not resolved and is getting worse as the early parliamentary elections on July 11 approach. The political forces supporting Moldovan President Maia Sandu use every opportunity to strengthen the blockade of Transdniestria and the negotiation process, to destroy the proven mechanism of the peacekeeping operation in the region,” the resolution proposed by the United Russia deputies reads. MPs also mention the "unseemly role" of the Ukrainian authorities "in exacerbating the conflict" around Transdniestria. They insist that Sandu's first official visit to Kiev this January was designed precisely to coordinate actions against Transdniestria. At the same time, State Duma deputies predict "the prospect for the transport communication and supply of the population in Transdniestria to be stopped" from  September 1 and also insist on "Moldova's plans from July 11 to introduce a full-scale joint customs and border control at the Cuchurgan checkpoint." “This threatens to sharply restrict the foreign economic activity of Transdniestria, including the supply of medicines and medical products, food and other things,” the deputies of the United Russia are sure. The document also notes that all these actions "the State Duma deputies perceive as a threat to peace and stability, the interests of the citizens of the Russian Federation in the region." “The State Duma is convinced that the aggravation of the conflict in no way meets either the declared goals of a peaceful settlement, or the prospects of the Republic of Moldova as an independent state. It should be clear to everyone that Russia, as the guarantor of the Transdniestrian conflict settlement, peace and tranquility on the banks of the Dniester, will not allow its citizens and compatriots to be brought to their knees,” the resolution says. The deputies proposed to appeal to the government of the Russian Federation with a request to provide assistance to Transdniestria: provide a vaccine against coronavirus and medical equipment, introduce a special regime of access for Pridnestrovian products to the Russian market, improve the mechanism of pension provision for citizens of the Russian Federation in Pridnestrovie, connect Pridnestrovie to the Mir payment system to ensure social guarantees to the Russian citizens living in the region. It should be noted that the United Russia party has been cooperating with the Moldovan Socialist Party since 2017. At the end of April this year, the cargo with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which arrived in Moldova as humanitarian aid from Russia, was accompanied by the State Duma deputy from United Russia Viktor Seliverstov. "The Parliament of Moldova and the Party of Socialists of Moldova have addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to receive a vaccine against the coronavirus. The Russian Federation responded directly and very quickly to this request. The All-Russian political party United Russia has joined this work,” Seliverstov said at the time. Recall, in February 2021, Ukraine stated its intention to ban access of the Transdniestrian-plated cars since September 1 of this year: only cars with neutral numbers and an "MD" sticker will be able to cross border. This announcement resumed the discussion on neutral numbers for Transdniestrians. The head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Klaus Neukirch, insists that everyone should be able to get neutral numbers at one of the registration points in time. In Tiraspol, in turn, Chisinau was accused of provoking the Ukrainian side to impose bans and create problems with the issuance of neutral numbers. On February 25, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of Moldova Olga Cebotari issued a statement in which she denied some of the accusations of the Transdniestrian side. She said that an information campaign on the conditions of Transdniestrian cars' participation in international traffic had already been launched in January. She emphasized that possible measures would be taken only in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of November 8, 1968.