International recognition of Transnistria

International recognition of Transnistria (also known as Pridnestrovie) – a disputed region in Eastern Europe located between Moldova and Ukraine – is controversial. Although Transnistria declared independence in 1990, no United Nations member recognises its sovereignty and the region is considered by the UN to be part of Moldova. As of 2011, only Abkhazia, the Republic of Artsakh and South Ossetia recognise its independence, all themselves states with limited recognition. Despite not officially recognizing Transnistria's independence, Russia has established a consulate in the disputed territory.

Transnistria
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Transnistria
See also

History
Main article: Political status of Transnistria

In 1990, a Pridnestrovian Moldavian SSR (PMR) was proclaimed in the region by a number of conservative local Soviet officials opposed to perestroika. This action was immediately declared void by the then president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova, including Transnistria, became independent. The PMR side said Moldova's declaration of independence was ill-conceived and that it considers the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact to be null and void. The PMR side argues that if this is so, then the Moldovans themselves had agreed to relinquish Transnistria, as this territory never belonged to Moldova, nor to Romania before the signing of the agreement between the USSR and Germany.

During the 1992 War of Transnistria some villages changed hands between the PMR government and Moldova proper. PMR forces have often clashed with Moldova's representatives.

Foreign policy

Government documents from Transnistria state that the republic has "established and maintained friendly relations with countries seeking recognition." To this end, it said that relations would continue to develop in a friendly manner with the three states/political entities it has relations with: the Republic of Abkhazia, the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Republic of South Ossetia.

It sought to have relations with other foreign countries and international organizations, especially those of Europe, which were seen as "of paramount importance". The pro-European orientation was a consequence of a "general understanding of fundamental values of the world civilization. A lot of Pridnestrovian foreign interests lie in this area. The importance of a harmonic inclusion of Pridnestrovie into the international democratic community makes necessary an active cooperation." Another avenue of importance was cooperation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe because its importance "as a mediator in the negotiation process between Moldova and Pridnestrovie... in ensuring regional stability." Transnistria's goal was to "rest on the European experience in the future for its positive political, economic, scientific and technical, and cultural development."[1]

Transnistria is member state of the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations. The government of Moldova does not actively prevent or seek to prevent representatives of other states from interacting with the government of Transnistria.[2]

States which formally recognise Transnistria as independent
International recognition of Transnistria
  Transnistria
  States that recognise Transnistria as independent

UN non-member states
EntityDate of recognitionNotes
 Abkhazia22 January 1993 or before[note 1]Mutual recognition.[3]
 Artsakh4 July 2001 or before[note 1]Mutual recognition.[1][4]
South Ossetia12 October 1994 or before[note 1]Mutual recognition.[3]

States that do not recognise Transnistria as independent

UN member states
StateNotes
 AlbaniaAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Albania supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 BelarusOfficially Belarus does not recognise Transnistria as independent.[6] De facto Belarusian corporations and officials treat Transnistria as independent.[7][8][9][10]
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Bosnia supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 CroatiaAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Croatia supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 GeorgiaAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Georgia supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 LiechtensteinAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Liechtenstein supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 North MacedoniaAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 North Macedonia supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 MoldovaMoldova's Prime Minister Vlad Filat wanted to see the Russian army presence replaced with an international civil mission and hoped for European support.[11] Deputy Prime Minister Victor Osipov said that Moldova was a European problem. When the EU passed the Lisbon Treaty and created the new position of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy he said "The results of these efforts (to have more powerful tools for an effective foreign policy) will be very important, along with the place that the Transnistrian problem will occupy on the agenda of the EU and its new institution. Our task here is to attract attention to the Transnistrian problem, precisely so that it will occupy a higher place in the foreign and security policy agenda of the EU. We will always seek a solution through peaceful means, but we should never forget that we are talking about a conflict. We are talking about an administration [in the city of Tiraspol] that has and is developing military capabilities and a very fragile situation that could deteriorate and create risky situations in the East of Europe. This affects the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and Romania – because Romania is not indifferent to the developments – and other countries from the region. Experiences from other frozen conflicts show that it is not a good idea to wait until a major incident happens."[12]
 MontenegroAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Montenegro supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 NorwayAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Norway supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 Russia
Main article: Russia–Transnistria relations
During a visit to Kiev, President Dmitri Medvedev said he supported "special status" for Transnistria and recognised the "important and stabilising" role of the Russian army.[11]
SerbiaAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Serbia supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5] In November 2015 Serbian politicians participated in a conference in Tiraspol. At the end of the conference, those politicians adopted a resolution, which proclaimed that the "Transnistrian Moldovan Republic (PMR) and the Republic of Serbia are interested in broadening their multifaceted cooperation with the Russian Federation, including in the military-political sphere."[13]
 TurkeyAlong with other states on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009 Turkey supported "renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5]
 Ukraine
Main article: Transnistria–Ukraine relations
In June 1992, then Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk said that Ukraine would guarantee the independence of Transnistria in case of a Moldovan-Romanian union.[14] Over the following two decades Ukraine had an ambivalent relationship with Transnistria. In 2014, then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that Pridnestrovie is not a sovereign state, but rather, the name of a region along the Ukraine–Moldova border.[15] In 2017, Transnistrian president Vadim Krasnoselsky said that Transnistria had "traditionally good relations with (Ukraine), we want to maintain them" and "we must build our relations with Ukraine – this is an objective necessity".[16]

Positions taken by international organizations
OrganizationNotes
 European UnionEuropean Union took note of and welcomed "the objectives of Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009, renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova."[5] The EU was asked to restart negotiations for the 5+2 format.[11]
 Commonwealth of Independent StatesIn June 2015, the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Nikolay Bordyuzha, said that "[there] is no military solution to [the] Transnistria conflict. If a war breaks out in the region it will last for a long time and cause great bloodshed."[17]

See also

Notes
  1. The date when Abkhazia, Artsakh, South Ossetia and Transnistria recognized each other is not clear. Abkhazia and Transnistria signed a Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation on 22 January 1993, Artsakh and Transnistria signed one on 4 July 2001, and South Ossetia and Transnistria signed another one on 12 October 1994.

References
  1. "In detail: The foreign policy of Pridnestrovie". Pridnestrovie. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  2. Berg, E./Pegg, S.: Scrutinizing a Policy of "Engagement without Recognition": US Requests for Diplomatic Actions with De Facto States, in: Foreign Policy Analysis, Vol. 12 (2017).
  3. "Абхазия, Южная Осетия и Приднестровье признали независимость друг друга и призвали всех к этому же". Newsru. 17 November 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  4. Вице-спикер парламента Абхазии: Выборы в НКР соответствуют всем международным стандартам: "Абхазия, Южная Осетия, НКР и Приднестровье уже давно признали независимость друг друга и очень тесно сотрудничают между собой", – сказал вице-спикер парламента Абхазии. ... "...Абхазия признала независимость Нагорно-Карабахской Республики..." – сказал он."
  5. "Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the Council Common Position 2009/139/CFSP of 16 February 2009, renewing restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova" (PDF). Council of the European Union. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  6. Vladislav V. Froltsov: Belarus: A Pragmatic Approach toward Moldova, in: Marcin Kosienkowski, William Schreiber (ed.): Moldova: Arena of International Influences, Lanham (Maryland) 2012, pp. 1-12 (here: p. 2).
  7. Belarus, Transnistria to foster cooperation, eng.belta.by 29 May 2013. Copy of the article.
  8. Belarus’ companies ready to expand cooperation with Transnistria, eng.belta.by 26 April 2013.
  9. Belarus mulls transport engineering, farm projects in Transnistria, eng.belta.by 18 December 2012.
  10. Minsk donates buses, trolleybuses, ambulances to Tiraspol, eng.belta.by 14 August 2012.
  11. http://en.rian.ru/valdai_foreign_media/20100519/159073808.html
  13. Transnistria and Serbia confirm interest to cooperate with Russia, infotag.md 27 November 2015.
  14. Moldawiens Präsident: Wir haben Krieg mit Rußland, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23.06.1992.
  15. "Не существует государства ПМР, существует лишь приднестровский участок границы - Порошенко". UNIAN (in Russian). 23 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  16. Президент Приднестровья рассказал, почему не подпишет "Меморандум Козака-2", mk.ru 9. November 2017.
  17. "CSTO secretary general: Any war in Karabakh and Transnistria will last for long time and cause great bloodshed, en.apa.az 18 June 2015". Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
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