Russia congratulates Transnistria on its 'independence' in disregard of Moldova's position

Russia congratulated officially Transnistria on the 20th anniversary of the formation of the separatist republic in the eastern region of Moldova, ignoring the position of the government in Chisinau, which asked the international community in a special statement to refrain from such actions, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the agency Novyi Region, Russian Ambassador to Moldova Valeri Kuzmin congratulated Transnistria on behalf of Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, wishing its people prosperity and pledging further assistance. At a festive event in Tiraspol on Wednesday, the Russian ambassador reiterated Moscow's position, according to which: “the preconditions for a safe and fair settlement formula are related to ensuring a dialogue based on the equality of the parties, and, not less importantly, to the development of the Republic of Moldova on a path of stronger neutrality and democracy, through the constitutional fortification of this country's neutrality. In this context, Transnistria should be offered a particularly secure, guaranteed status”. The diplomat also said that “the peacekeeping mission on the Nistru, which is one of a kind, constitutes one of the cornerstones in the architecture of peace and security in this region, and as concerns its transformation into an international peacekeeping mission composed of military and civilian observers, this will be possible only when the parties involved in the conflict agree on the concrete terms of a definitive settlement”. “The {Transnistrians} can firmly count on Russia as a mediator that it will stick to the settlement principles established by the international community starting from 1992, will contribute efficiently to ensuring peace on the Nistru, going by the interest of consolidating stability in this region of Europe. “Over the last two decades Russia has offered, and will continue to offer substantial humanitarian assistance to the people of Transnistria. This is all the more natural since the region is inhabited by as many as 150,000 Russian citizens”. Kuzmin expressed gratitude to the “people of the republic” for the contribution to the new historical developments in the post-Soviet space. “These processes are developing and they will continue in close interrelation with the establishment of the fundamentals of a new multipolar world order which is about to come into existence”, said Valeri Kuzmin. On Tuesday, the Government of the Republic of Moldova issued a statement to disapprove of the celebration on September 2 of 20 years since the foundation of the breakaway republic of Transnistria. “Any gesture encouraging the idea of separatist movements created before the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics would be inappropriate. The former Soviet oligarchy then staged actions of rebellion against the authorities of the member states in the regions where there were preconditions, so as to hinder them from obtaining independence,” the Moldovan Government said in its statement.