Tiraspol calls on Chisinau to take a step towards settling the Transnistrian dispute and to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed republic. In his annual address to the people, the Transnistrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk said the foreign partners of Moldova should advise it to recognize the Transnistrian region, IPN reports.

Yevgeny Shevchuk stated that it is soon 24 years of the proclamation of the Moldovan Transnistrian Republic. In 20 years, the international community recognized the independence of six states already. Moreover, the Transnistrian leader considers that by opening document issuing offices on the Nistru River, the Moldovan authorities recognized indirectly Transnistria’s statehood.

In his statement, the Transnistrian leader also said that namely the recognition of the independence would enable each side to follow the chosen path. The tendency to oblige Tiraspol and Chisinau to coexist leads only to problems and blockage, which does not do good to the sides. Tiraspol and Chisinau can have normal relations between them and with the rest of the states only if Moldova and the Moldovan Transnistrian Republic are recognized as two separate states

Yevgeny Shevchuk added that the attempts of particular persons to convince the Transnistrians that Russia is bad and their efforts to remove the Russian presence from the Transnistrian region only hamper the constructive dialogue. The Transnistrians dream of having a bright future in an independent state, but alongside Russia.