Moscow uses Tiraspol as an instigator for engaging Moldova in a military conflict, said experts invited to the talk show “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel, IPN reports.
Former director of the Security and Information Service (SIS) Valentin Dediu considers the letter by the so-called foreign affairs minister of the separatist republic Nina Shtanski to the UN, which contains a number of threats against Chisinau, is a provocation. “First of all, there was the alleged Bessarabian Rada, which was recently tracked down by the Ukrainian security force. Now they moved to Tiraspol. Initially they invoked social problems and now they utter political problems. The threats made by Nina Shtanski are dangerous. Besides the police commissariat in Bender, there are the Moldovan-administered, Latin-script schools and farmland. They also threaten with criminal cases. The employees of the SIS will top the list, followed by police officers and government officials who will dare to make particular statements about Transnistria,” stated.
Former deputy minister of the interior, Nistru war veteran Ghenadie Cosovan also considers that the letter of Nina Shtanski is a provocation aimed at destabilizing the situation and at involving Moldova in a military conflict. “We are too timid. This letter is a direct threat against the Moldovan state. The Moldovan authorities should start criminal cases. I think it is a plan of Moscow, which uses Transnistria to hit Ukraine on behalf of Moldova and to engage the country into a military conflict,” he stated.
Media analyst Cristian Tabara said the Moldovan authorities should not yield to the provocations, but should take attitude and use the diplomatic resources in this regard. “Tiraspol behaves like a state with problems. I imagine how the Transnistrian forces provoke the police in Bender, while these use the guns to protect themselves. One shot is enough for an armed conflict to start. The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior of Moldova must do their utmost to avoid provocations,” stated the journalist.
The head Transnistria’s external affairs department Nina Shtanski, in a letter to the UN Representative Office in Moldova, threatened Chisinau with the institution of a visa regime for the inhabitants from the right bank of the Nistru, introduction of 100% taxes on the import of products made by companies from the right bank of the Nistru, nationalization of the capital of companies that operate in the Transnistrian region, but were registered in Chisinau and starting of criminal cases against Moldovan officials who will not respect the so-called constitution of the breakaway republic. Shtanski argued that these measures will be taken in response to the imposition by Chisinau and Kiev of an ‘economic blockade’ on Transnistria.
