Moldovan President Dodon to Grant Broad Autonomy to Transnistria

Moldovan President Igor Dodon says he is ready to give the unrecognized Transnistria broad powers of autonomy. He announced this in a video message published on his official YouTube channel.

He mentions that, in recent years, Chisinau has recognized the diplomas of Transnistrian universities, solved the problem of issuing car license plates, and work is underway to eliminate roaming in telephone communications. At the same time, Dodon noted that political settlement can only happen as a result of negotiations.

“How will we integrate this politically, how do we solve this problem? We need to sit down and talk. We are ready to come out of this situation, we are ready to give guarantees, we are ready to give quite a lot of autonomy,” Dodon said.

He stressed that during the negotiations the parties should recognize a common future.

“Because there will be no independence for this region, it’s obvious. The only way out is to be together, to sit down and decide,” Dodon concluded.

The UN General Assembly supported the resolution calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the unrecognized Transnistrian Republic back in June 2018.

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The latest negotiations between the parties took place in Slovakia in October 2019.

Transnistria is a self-proclaimed state recognized by the international community as part of Moldova. The independence of the so-called "Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic" was proclaimed in August 1991 on the initiative of separatists supported by the Russian army.

A contingent of Russian armed forces and military unit No. 13962 — two battalions totaling about 1,000 people — remains in the region.