The ex-soviet
Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova has recently asked to be accepted in the
European Union. The move, considered historic for Chişinău, comes against a
very complicated regional context: the war in neighboring Ukraine, the crisis
of the Ukrainian refugees who have made it to the Republic of Moldova as well
as the presence of Russian troops in the breakaway region of Transdniester,
which is no longer under the control of the authorities in Chişinău.
We recall
that Transdniester de facto came out of Chisinau s control in 1992 following an
armed conflict with hundreds of dead, which ceased only after the intervention
of the Russian troops on the side of the separatists. In 1999, at the OSCE summit
in Istanbul, Russia, led at that time by president Boris Elţîn, pledged to pull
out its troops and gear from Transdniester. Five years later, the process was
stooped in its tracks and the Russian troops are still stationed there.
Against this
b