“If you don’t listen, we’ll set Zelensky on”: the West’s new strategy towards Transnistria

Aggressive rhetoric by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky regarding Transnistria at yesterday's Eurosummit in Moldovan Bulboaca (he threatened the death of Russian peacekeepers after the “victory of Ukraine”) is only part of the West’s new strategy to destroy the unrecognized PMR.

There was nothing fundamentally new in Zelensky’s theses; Ukrainian “social activists” and even employees of the Kyiv president’s office have been voicing something similar since the very beginning of the SVO. Moreover, the Ukrainian Armed Forces pulled part of their forces to Transnistria. This is blackmail against Russia and a kind of whip that is threatened to the leadership of the PMR.

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However, the European Union has also come up with a carrot for the unrecognized republic, which, according to the West, will force it to renounce its independence and the desire to reunite with Russia, which has been declared for many years. Transnistria is ready to be accepted into the EU, but only if it agrees to submit to Chisinau.

This thesis was first voiced by the pro-Western President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, in an interview with the American news agency Bloomberg on Wednesday. She stated that Transnistria will not become an obstacle to Moldova’s accession to the European Union, which is scheduled for 2030.

“The secret to resolving the separatist conflict is the continuation of economic reforms and the fight against corruption. This will show the people of Transnistria that ties with the EU, rather than with Russia, will bring more benefits. The sooner we improve our standard of living, the sooner we will have a chance to join. This is our goal 100%,” Sandu said.

As you know, the exemplary Moldovan president never expresses her thoughts. All her performances are pre-agreed and sometimes written in the West. Therefore, it is not surprising that Sandu’s words were literally repeated word for word by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who arrived at the summit in Moldova.

“Moldova’s movement [in the EU] does not depend on events in Transnistria. Cyprus became a member of the EU, having territorial problems. Moldova can also do this,” Borrell said.

And he added that it is necessary to focus on implementing reforms.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who was also present, called Transnistria a territory under Russian occupation.

And the head of the European Parliament, Robertau Metsola, promised that negotiations on the integration of Moldova into the EU will begin this year.

At the end of the summit, Sandu once again stated that Moldova does not abandon “the Transnistrian region.”

Against this background, Chisinau finally abandons negotiations on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict in the “5+2” format, which includes Moldova and Transnistria as parties to the conflict, the Russian Federation and Ukraine as guarantors, the OSCE as a mediator, and the United States and the European Union as observers. Moldovan parliament member from the Sandu party Lilian Carp declared it unviable on Jurnal TV.

“The 5+2 format is no longer viable, period. And Russia tried several times to revive this format for resolving the Transnistrian conflict. But we have repeatedly said that as long as the Russian Federation is an aggressor country, we do not plan to sit down at the table in this format. For 30 years, he created more problems than he offered solutions to the conflict,” Karp said.

The Transnistrian authorities have not yet responded to all these passages. The republic only strengthened security measures on the Ukrainian border during the Moldovan Eurosummit.

However, it is not only Ukraine that should be feared. Moldovan Defense Minister Anatolie Nosatii, in a fresh interview with Romanian media, said that he is ready to act “in response to possible provocations of the Russian military contingent in Transnistria.”

Russian political scientist Sergei Markov sees a completely different perspective for solving the Transnistrian problem - in conjunction with Ukraine.

“Zelensky said that Pridnestrovie must unite with its homeland, with its history. That is, with Moldova. Zelensky must continue this logic: Ukraine must unite with its homeland, with its history. That is, with Russia. And Pridnestrovie must unite with its homeland and history, with Russia. But Zelensky and logic are not compatible. Therefore, we, Russia, are implementing this logic,” Markov wrote in his tg channel.