President Vladimir Putin rescinded a 2012 decree that partially supported Moldovan sovereignty in deciding the future of the Transnistria region, a Moscow-backed separatist region that borders Ukraine and where Russia maintains troops. This was reported by Reuters.
The decree, which includes a component on Moldova, outlined Russia’s foreign policy 11 years ago, which suggests Moscow’s closer relationship with the European Union and the United States. The order to revoke the 2012 document was published on the Kremlin’s website and said the decision was made to “ensure Russia’s national interests in connection with the profound changes occurring in international relations.”
It is part of a series of anti-Western actions announced at Putin’s annual speech.
Alexandru Flencea, the Moldovan chairman of the joint control commission in the security zone around Transnistria, pointed out that the cancellation does not mean that Putin is abandoning the idea of Moldovan sovereignty.
The decree is a political document that implements the concept of Russia’s foreign policy, Flenchea stated. Moldova and Russia have a basic political agreement that provides for mutual respect for the territorial integrity of our countries, she added.
The Kremlin said Russia’s relations with Moldova, which last week approved a new pro-Western prime minister who pledged to continue to push for EU membership, had been very strained. Moscow has accused Moldova of pursuing an anti-Russian agenda.
Moldova is falling into anti-Russian hysteria, the Kremlin believes
Relations between the two countries are “very tense”
Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova is one of the poorest nations in Europe, has been led since 2020 by President Maja Sandu with the strong support of the US and the European Union. US President Joe Biden met with her in Poland on Tuesday to reaffirm his support.
The 2012 decree committed Russia to seeking ways to resolve the separatist issue “on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and neutral status of the Republic of Moldova in determining the special status of Transnistria.”
The Russian-speaking inhabitants of Transnistria broke away from Moldova in 1990., a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, due to fears that Moldova would merge with Romania, whose language and culture it largely shares.
A brief war pitted newly independent Moldova against separatists in 1992. But there has been virtually no violence in the past 30 years, with Russian “peacekeepers” still stationed in the small sliver of land that has no international recognition.
