Transnistria was included in the project “Novorossia” and the harsh reactions of the Kremlin to Chisinau’s request to pull out the Russian troops from the region confirm this. The issue was discussed in the program “Place for dialog” on the public station “Radio Moldova”, IPN reports.
Political analyst Oazu Nantoi said there are risks that Russia will prepare new scenarios within the project “Novorossia”, which initially failed after the election of Petro Poroshenko as President of Ukraine. “It’s well known that after the annexation of Crimea, Vladimir Putin intended to extend the project “Novorossia” into the Ukrainian Black Sea shore and to include, after Donetsk and Luhansk, the regions Herson, Nikolaev and Odessa. Transnistria was to be annexed to Odessa. Putin’s plans were thwarted after the Ukrainian army intervened successfully in southeastern Ukraine. Now there is a risk that the Kremlin will save “Novorossia” and the Transnistrian regime using Moldova’s territory that is not controlled by Chisinau. The rumors that Ukrainian soldiers, dressed in uniforms of Transnistrian servicemen, are preparing provocations, which were spread by Tiraspol, can be explained this way. Ukraine has no reasons to start a war with Transnistria,” he stated.
Political analyst Roman Mihaes noted that Moscow wants to use Transnistria in the “Novorossia” project and considers that the region should be attached to the Odessa region, which is a strategic point for the Russians. “The context shows that the situation is becoming tense and there are fears that Russia is preparing something for us. Russia does not want the peacekeeping format in Transnistria to be changed and does not want to withdraw its troops from the region. Chisinau must intervene through the agency of mediators, who should be from the EU or the U.S,” he said.
Within a phone call during the program, Deputy Foreign Minister Valeriu Chiveri said that all the theses invoked by Moscow, according to which Chisinau and Kiev block the economy of Transnistria, are artificial. “In the first six months of this year, Transnistria’s exports increased by 70%, while the companies from the region export goods successfully to the EU,” he stated.
