In Tiraspol there is no desire to involve the Transnistrian region in an open conflict, either with Chisinau or with Ukraine, said Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian. According to him, the de facto administration in Tiraspol has conciliatory rhetoric when it comes to the security of the region. Any accusation from Tiraspol regarding an excessive militarization of Moldova is gratuitous as the country’s defense budget is still extremely small, IPN notes.
The Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration assured that Tiraspol doesn’t want to involve the region in the war. The pacifist attitude of the self-styled Transnistria authorities is influenced by the developments on the Ukrainian front.
“I don’t have the feeling that in Tiraspol there is a desire to involve the region in an open conflict, either with Chisinau or especially with Ukraine. Following the discussions we have with Tiraspol, formal or informal, I don’t hide the fact that there are also informal discussions, I have never had the conviction that they cheat in this regard. I have no doubt that if the developments on the Ukrainian front had been different, Tiraspol’s behavior would have been different. They would have had more courage. But as far as we can see, the war in Ukraine is becoming a war of positions and this means that it’s a long war. Ukraine must be prepared, but we must also get ready. And the support for Ukraine of those from the West must be different, not just nice words. The wealthier partners must offer stronger support for Ukraine,” Oleg Serebrian stated in the talk show “The Shadow Cabinet” on JurnalTV channel.
He noted that exercises and moves to check the capacities of the armored vehicles have taken place on the left side of the Nistru. Tiraspol allegedly aims to act “in the mirror” in the context of the military exercises taking place on the right side of the river.
“There performed particular exercises on the spot. The engines were started, checks were carried out. Let’s say that they are routine tests. We hope they will not go further and there will be no demonstrations of force. Perhaps, some want to create through these actions a kind of counterweight to the exercises taking place on the right bank, and they see them as threatening. I also said in the 1+1 format, when we were accused of excessive militarization, that the military budget of the Republic of Moldova is smaller than the military budget of the smallest NATO member state, Luxembourg. We have €100 million for defense, while Luxembourg’s defense budget reaches €500 million. We still have a lot to do to catch up and create an army capable of dealing with security challenges. In the Transnistrian region, the military, security and militia budget has been given priority for 30 years,” stated the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration.
Recently, the Russian Federation’s component of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces informed that from May 17 to June 17, 2024, it intends to conduct maneuvers to check in motion the capacities of the armored vehicles stationed at peacekeeping posts. Moldova’s delegation to the Joint Control Commission described such actions as inopportune amidst the regional security situation.
