Moldova demands that Russia not recognize documents issued by Transnistria
Moldova demands that Russia not recognize documents issued by the authorities in the separatist region of Transnistria. A recent separatists’ appeal to Moscow for recognition of their "passports" and other documents was condemned by the Moldovan authorities.
The Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Andrian Candu, said that such a move by Russia would be a gross violation of international law.
Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip reminded Russia that it recently proclaimed support for the territorial integrity of Moldova. He expressed hope that the scenario implemented in eastern Ukraine would not be applied to the Transnistrian region of Moldova.
On Wednesday, the separatist authorities of Transnistria arranged a joint meeting between the deputies of their "parliament" and the Russian parliamentarians who arrived in the region. They adopted a resolution which expressed support for Moscow's policy aimed at the "consolidation of the Russian World" and appealed to Russia with a request to recognize "passports" issued by the unrecognized region.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the recognition of "documents" that were issued in the territories of the Donbas that are not under Ukraine's control. The order indicated that these "documents" identify residents of those parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, which separatists call their "republics," as citizens of Ukraine, and stipulates that the recognition of these "documents" is temporary and only in effect until the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented.
Transnistria, after a short war against Chisinau with the support of Russian troops in the region, fell out of the control of the Moldovan authorities and unilaterally proclaimed its "independence" in 1992, but no one in the world has recognized it. Russia, in defiance of its international obligations to withdraw its troops from the region by 2002, refuses to do so.