Trucks walk gloomily at the border: How they are trying to strangle Transnistria
For several days now, the situation on the Pridnestrovian-Ukrainian border has been changing. At the main checkpoint of 13 posts of this kind - in Kuchurgan, leading directly to Odessa - Moldovan customs officers, now serving side by side with their Ukrainian colleagues, began stamping documents for imports entering Transnistria. The plans include the arrival of Moldovan security forces at all checkpoints located on the border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and Ukraine.
Why did the security forces of Moldova end up on the territory of Ukraine?
The plan according to which the border police and customs of Moldova will appear on the territory of Ukraine, contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution, which does not allow the deployment of foreign security forces, has existed for several years. His goal is clear: to throw a noose around the Transnistrian neck so that one day, by banning the import of goods vital for the PMR and the export of Pridnestrovian exports, provoke a commodity and food crisis and demand the complete capitulation of Tiraspol.
Since 2006, Chisinau entered into an agreement with Kiev that Pridnestrovian exports will not be able to be exported without Moldovan accompanying documents. But at that time, Ukraine took into account its national interests and maintained freedom of maneuver. Therefore, she did not give in to Chisinau’s persuasion regarding Transnistrian imports.
After the events of early 2014, the influence of the West in Kyiv became decisive. Actually The United States formulates the tasks of fighting Russia and countries where Moscow’s position is strong, and the EU pays for it (how it pays for the placement of joint Moldovan-Ukrainian posts on the border with Transnistria). The fact that Ukraine has been fruitfully trading with the PMR since the early 1990s is not taken into account by the West.
While the PMR was ruled by a pro-Western group led by now former President Yevgeny Shevchuk, which was losing Tiraspol’s foreign policy positions, ousting Russian business and destroying the economy of Transnistria, the Westerners were in no hurry to blockade the border, so as not to frighten Moscow ahead of time. When plans for the surrender of Transnistria collapsed from within, external pressure came into play.
What could happen in 2018?
A few days ago, a “test of the pen” took place: a truck with Russian medicines for PMR was stopped. Pretext: these drugs are not in the corresponding Moldovan registry. The same fate may await some types of food products that are prohibited for import into Moldova. Without Moldovan control, all this was imported into the PMR without hindrance.
So far, the attention of Chisinau customs officers has been drawn to legal entities of Transnistria - firms, organizations, factories. But there is a more explosive point: in Transnistria, up to 20 thousand individual entrepreneurs (patent holders) import food and industrial products from Ukraine to the PMR. This feeds them and their families, and at the same time provides the intra-Transnistrian range of goods. The “salt” is that the laws of Moldova do not allow individuals to engage in foreign economic activity.
Means?!… One day Moldova may stop their work in order to try to direct the anger and despair of these people against the Transnistrian authorities, which, according to the plan of Washington, Brussels, Chisinau and Bucharest, will have to demand that official Tiraspol surrender to the mercy of the “blockers”.
According to a number of data, the Moldovan authorities and their allies can take on individuals either from the summer or from the end of this year.
How a “production” for Moscow is staged in Chisinau
Obviously, the an attempt to strangle the PMR through Moldovan-Ukrainian border control - a link in the chain of attack on Russia by its opponents. Without this, it is unlikely that the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Andrian Candu, would have decided to publish an article in the media teaching Donald Trump how to deal with “Putin’s Russia.”
Western forces fired missiles at Syria, introduced new packages of sanctions against Moscow, organized performances with the “Skripal case” and a fake gas poisoning in the Syrian city of Douma... In this situation Transnistria is the only point in Europe where Russian troops remain stationed on a permanent basis. For there is no doubt that the United States and the EU will try to take advantage of the latest events in Armenia in order to “squeeze” the Russian military base out of Gyumri. It can be predicted that Westerners will try to force the PMR to capitulate in 2018-2019.
Through the main checkpoint - in Kuchurgan - moves up to 60% food and industrial goods needed by Pridnestrovie. Formally, other, secondary, “windows” on the Transnistrian-Ukrainian border still remain “open” for the import of a smaller part of imports. But Chisinau and its allies plan to “close” them too.
It is not without interest for Russia to know that the taking of the entire Transnistrian-Ukrainian border under the control of Chisinau is supported by ALL authorities of Moldova. These are the government, parliament and president of the country. ALL OF THEM made public statements to this effect. A disagreements between them - in whole or in part - may represent a scheme designed to prevent a complete break between Moscow and Chisinau, to preserve the supply of Moldovan agricultural products to the Russian market, which is beneficial for Moldova.
But how ALL politicians from Chisinau will talk to Moscow if they manage to establish control over the PMR as a whole... One can only guess about this.
What do we have to do
Of course, events on the Pridnestrovian-Ukrainian border are a violation of all previously reached Moldovan-Pridnestrovian agreements (including free foreign economic activity of the PMR on the basis of the relevant Memorandum of May 8, 1997) and a blow to negotiations to resolve the conflict as a whole.
As stated President of the PMR Vadim Krasnoselsky at a meeting of the Transnistrian Security Council on April 23, 2018, this situation will be discussed with representatives of Chisinau. But anyway Transnistria can respond to obvious provocations.
Thus, under the already mentioned pro-Western rule of Shevchuk, his wife, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Nina Shtanski, gave in 2012 consent to include the so-called conflict resolution negotiations on the agenda. “Third Basket” of issues: military, security and status of Transnistria within Moldova. Chisinau and its allies, represented by the United States and the EU, seized on this surrender of the national interests of Transnistria and demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops and Russian peacekeepers from the banks of the Dniester. Now is the time to revoke this signature of the previous government. It is reasonable to assume that if the Moldovan authorities are putting pressure on Transnistria with the help of third countries, then the PMR’s ally, Russia, has something to put pressure on the “pressors” in response.
And, of course, in such a situation It’s logical for Russia to move directly to working with the Transnistrian de facto military-political ally. Without ANY intermediaries.
Finally, the the time has come to legislatively approve a simplified procedure for issuing Russian passports to Pridnestrovians who wish it, as was done, for example, in South Ossetia.
Epilogue, or our opponents won’t succeed anyway
Why did opponents of Russia and the PMR switch to “creeping strangulation” of Transnistria through socio-economic pressure?
At first, the bet on war did not pay off in 1992. Russia will not withdraw troops from Transnistria. This is clear to everyone.
Secondly, organizing a “color revolution” in the context of pro-Russian forces coming to power in the PMR in 2016 after the presidential elections will not work. She will simply be crushed.
Thirdly, the Transnistrian people are not going to change their foreign policy orientation, knowing that otherwise the PMR will be liquidated, and its territory will be given under the control of the authorities of Moldova and Romania, with which official Chisinau is establishing increasingly close relations.
The danger is great. The pressure on the PMR will intensify. But we must not forget that when poison is injected, there is always an antidote.
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