The Transnistria authorities fear armed provocations by extremist forces of Ukraine and Moldova, the President of the non-recognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Yevgeny Shevchuk, stated at a KGB meeting. “Intensification of cooperation between the security agencies of Moldova and NATO structures is taking place; military exercises are taking place; additional financial support is being allocated,” ITAR-TASS cites Shevchuk. According to him, after the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, additional units of the Ukrainian army were sent to the borders of Transniestria.
More than half of residents of Transniestria are Russians; the territory went out of the control of Moldova de facto in 1992. Vadim Krasnoselsky, chairman of the Supreme Council of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, explained that Bessarabia seceded from the Russian Empire on the basis of the Bucharest Peace Treaty [the Bucharest Peace Treaty of 1812 ended the Russian-Turkish war and was signed by the Russian and the Ottoman Empires – VK]. After this, there was the San Stefano Peace Treaty [between by the Russian and the Ottoman Empires] and the Treaty of Berlin of 1878 [which changed the conditions of the San Stefano Peace Treaty to the detriment of Russia, but Russia got Southern Bessarabia back]. After the merger in the Russian Empire in 1812, the eastern part of Moldova was called the Bessarabia Region; and in 1873 it was called the Bessarabian Governorate.
“Bessarabia was a part of the Russian Empire, and no one has ever questioned these peace agreements. After that, the Kingdom of Romania occupied Bessarabia in 1918, and until the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Bessarabia was precisely under the occupation of the Kingdom of Romania. From the perspective of Bessarabia, this agreement had a right-recovery nature, because the rights of the San Stefano Treaty and the Treaty of Berlin were restored, according to which Bessarabia was part of the Russian Empire. But these agreements did not affect the territory of the modern Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Transniestria had never been part of the Kingdom of Romania, I mean the left bank, and had always been part of the Russian Empire, or the Ukrainian SSR. In 1924, on the left bank of Ukraine, the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established. This autonomy existed even prior to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. After the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, it was not we who came to Bessarabia, but Bessarabia was annexed to us, and the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was created,” Vadim Krasnoselsky.
According to him, “if we are talking about the denunciation of this peace treaty, then de facto and de jure Bessarabia rejected us. And modern Moldova regained its historical name of Bessarabia, and we gained our independence in the entity of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.” “If the gentlemen from Moldova want to create a union with the Romanian state – yes, please. Conduct a referendum, let the people vote and make decision. No one disputes your right to self-determination. We are not going to impose my opinion on politicians from the right bank,” Krasnoselsky said, making it clear that Chisinau shouldn’t impose its views on Tiraspol.
