A region from the former USSR does not want to join the EU, it will unite with Russia

The foreign minister of the separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria has said that they are determined to achieve independence there and eventual unification with Russia, and that Moldova’s application for membership in the European Union effectively ends any possibility of cooperation, the Associated Press reported.

Transnistria, which lies between Ukraine and the rest of Moldova, has had a contingent of Russian peacekeepers since the end of the separatist war in 1992. After Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February, there was speculation that Moscow would seek to take over control over this territory as well.

In April, a series of explosions in the territory with a population of 470,000 people caused tensions to rise.

Vitaly Ignatiev, foreign minister of the unrecognized government, said at a press conference in Moscow that Transnistria would pursue the goals set out in the 2006 referendum: “Independent development of Transnistria and subsequent free entry into the Russian Federation. … The subsequent free accession to Russia is a process that probably requires important decisions, political preparations and many other things. The main priority is obviously independence.”

Moldova is constitutionally neutral and therefore not a potential NATO member, but it shows an increasingly Western orientation. In June, the EU granted it candidate status, with full membership in the bloc dependent on reforms such as tackling corruption and strengthening the rule of law.

“By receiving the status of a candidate for EU membership, Moldova has crossed an undoubted Rubicon,” Ignatiev said. “This put an end to the issue of building political relations within certain common spaces, because this decision was made solely by the Moldovan leadership, it was not made collectively. Also, no one can speak for us.”

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