US and Ukraine Voice Support for Moldova Amid Pro-Russian Destabilizing Statements from Transnistria
The US State Department has said it firmly supports Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity following a call by a congress of so-called pro-Russian puppet "deputies" from unrecognised Transnistria to Russia, in which they accused Chisinau of pressure and "economic warfare". This was stated by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
"Given Russia's increasingly aggressive and destabilising role in Europe, we are following Russia's actions in Transnistria and the broader situation in the region very closely," Miller said.
The United States strongly supports Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, he added.
Also in the framework of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Tirana, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu.
The Heads of State discussed the latest developments in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, Russia's attempts to destabilise the situation there and effective ways to counteract the influence of the aggressor country.
"Thank you for your words of support. We are fully on your side. We support you and your people," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed. The interlocutors stressed that the integration of Ukraine and Moldova into the European Union is a common goal of the two countries, and agreed to further mutual support and coordination of efforts on the path to EU membership.
As a reminder, on 28 February, pro-Russian rebels in Moldova's separatist region of Transnistria asked Russian President Putin to "protect" their region from what they claim are threats from the Moldovan government.
With this statement, they are repeating in miniature the highly flammable scenario of annexation of the territories of another state that Russia has been playing out for 10 years in the regions of eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Moscow.
Transnistria, which illegally seceded from Moldova during the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 after a brief war and occupation by Russian troops under the guise of a "peacekeeping force", remains firmly in the Kremlin's orbit, while Moldova, which borders Ukraine, is seeking to join the European Union.
The Moldovan government has called the call by the Congress of "deputies" of the unrecognised Transnistria to Russia with fictitious accusations part of an information war coordinated by the Russian Federation as propaganda.