The Romanian foreign ministry has condemned the groundless allegations contained in a statement from the Russian foreign ministry with respect to the pro-Russian break-away region of Transnistria, in the east of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population, as well as the threatening and provocative rhetoric used.
According to a statement from the foreign ministry in Bucharest, the intentional promotion of information that does not correspond to the reality on the ground is an extremely dangerous approach in the current security context in which the Russian Federation is intensifying its war of aggression against Ukraine. Bucharest warns that this attempt to artificially create tension and destabilisation is unacceptable and calls for responsibility, the abandonment of aggressive and provocative rhetoric and abstention from statements and actions that can affect the stability of the region and of the Republic of Moldova.
Russia previously threatened, through its foreign ministry, that it would respond to any Ukrainian military provocation in Transnistria. The Russian defence ministry also issued a statement saying it has intelligence that the Ukrainians are preparing a false-flag attack, including with the involvement of the Azov nationalist regiment. „As a pretext for invasion, it is planned to stage an alleged offensive of Russian troops on the territory of Transnistria. To do this, the Ukrainians taking part in the action will be dressed in the uniforms of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”, the Russian statement claims.
The situation on the ground, however, is calm, with no changes compared to the previous period, said the delegation of the Republic of Moldova to the Joint Control Commission in Transnistria. Moldova’s defence ministry also said there is no direct threat to the state’s military security. Earlier, the authorities called for calm and urged the public to receive their information from the official and credible sources of the Republic of Moldova. „Our institutions are cooperating with our foreign partners and, in the event of threats […], we will inform the public without delay”, said the Moldovan government.
Transnistria de facto broke away with the central authorities after an armed conflict in which hundreds of people were killed and which ended following the intervention of Moscow’s troops on the side of the separatist rebels, in 1992, less than a year since Moldova proclaimed its independence. The former Russian president Boris Yeltsin pledged to withdraw the Russian troops from Transnistria at the OSCE summit in Istanbul in 1999, but around 1,500 Russian military and weaponry are still believed to be stationed there. According to analysts, the scenario for Transnistria’s secession was also used later for the separation, again with Russian support, of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia and of Donbas from Ukraine.
Bogdan Matei – Radio Romania International
