CHISINAU, Moldova ¨C Moldovan leaders have denounced as a threat Russian President Vladimir ?Putin¡¯s offer of simplified Russian citizenship for the country¡¯s pro-Russian Transnistria separatist enclave and contemplated measures to counteract it.
Transnistria broke from Moldova in 1990 when it was still a Soviet republic and, despite a brief conflict two years later, has ?since existed largely in peace alongside the country. A Russian military ?contingent ?of some 1,500 troops, which Russia sometimes describes as ?peacekeepers, separates the two sides and the enclave receives substantial Russian assistance.
Moldova¡¯s government, which seeks to join the European Union by 2030, sees the ?enclave and the military presence as a means of Moscow exerting influence over its ?affairs. Last month, the contingent¡¯s commanders were barred from entering Moldova.
Putin issued a decree on Friday, enabling Transnistria¡¯s 350,000 residents ?to secure Russian passports ?without meeting residence and other requirements. About half already hold Russian citizenship.
¡°Probably, they want more people to send ?to the war ?in Ukraine,¡± Moldovan President Maia Sandu, a frequent critic of ?Russia¡¯s invasion of its neighbour, told a conference in Estonia ?on Saturday.
¡°It¡¯s probably ?one way to threaten us again, because Russia does not like the actions we have been taking on reintegration on the economic and financial (sectors). The people in the Transnistria region have to think ?twice.¡±
She said many of the region¡¯s residents had already secured Moldovan passports to ¡°feel safer¡± since the outbreak of war.
Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, speaking late on Saturday, said his government was considering practical actions, as summoning the Russian ?ambassador ?to complain about Russian drones violating Moldovan airspace had ?had no effect on Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin¡¯s offer was ?tantamount to ¡°Russia designating the territory of Transnistria as supposedly its own.¡± He said Ukraine and Moldova would work out ¡°a joint assessment and joint action.¡±
Russia¡¯s ambassador to Moldova, Oleg Ozerov, told the state TASS ?news agency that the move was based on humanitarian grounds because of Moldova¡¯s ¡°increasing pressure on Transnistria.¡±
Moldovan criticism of the decree, he said, amounted to ¡°hypocrisy¡± as many Moldovans were obtaining passports from Romania, Moldova¡¯s western neighbour.
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