Moldovans choose between Russia, Europe in local elections

[bemildred]

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovans were voting Sunday in local election runoffs that are being seen as a test of whether the former Soviet republic moves closer to the European Union or Russia.

The key post is for mayor of Chisinau, the capital, where pro-European incumbent Dorin Chirtoaca faces pro-Russian challenger Zinaida Greceanai, a former prime minister of the Communist Party. A low turnout in the city of one million will benefit the 59-year-old Greceanai, while a higher number of voters will benefit Chirtoaca.

"I hope we will clarify things.... and build something that is certain, definitive, irreversible, for the future of Chisinau and Moldova," Chirtoaca said after voting.

"Residents have a great desire to see deeds and not just statements," said Greceanai.

http://thegardenisland.com/news/world/moldovans-choose-between-russia-europe-in-local-elections/article_e07e044b-c269-52b0-b406-7efb625617ce.html

[bemildred]

1. Ukraine Masses Troops on Border With Transnistria

Ukraine continues to mass troops and heavy weapons on the border with Transnistria on the pretext that the self-proclaimed republic may launch a military campaign against Ukraine, Russian media reported on Saturday.

“It looks like the Kiev authorities want to picture themselves as encircled by enemies, ready to attack,” a representative of the Transnistrian KGB told Russia’s Zvezda TV channel.

“That we may have a war here tomorrow is hard to say, but we are not ruling out a Ukrainian provocation either…They could use for this purpose one of their many small private armies which refuse to take any orders from Kiev,” the official added.

On June 22, the deputy foreign minister of the Transnistrian Republic, Vitaly Ignatyev, said that Ukraine was moving its troops towards the borders of the self-proclaimed republic, sandwiched between Ukraine and Moldova.

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150628/1023940592.html

[KoKo]

2. Transnistria-one of the post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones

Last edited Sun Jun 28, 2015, 04:49 PM - Edit history (1)

(I'd never heard of it --posting Wiki in case anyone reading this doesn't know either. The only one of the four "frozen conflict zones" I've ever heard of is South Ossetia-- the other three are Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia. Lots of room for mischief there considering their closeness too Russian border and their "frozen" status, one could think.)

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Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia(also called Trans-Dniestr or Transdniestria) is a breakaway state located mostly on a strip of land between the River Dniester and the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine. Since its declaration of independence in 1990, and especially after the War of Transnistria in 1992, it has been governed as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR, also known as Pridnestrovie), a state with limited recognition that claims territory to the east of the River Dniester, and also to the city of Bender and its surrounding localities on the west bank, in the historical region of Bessarabia. The names "Transnistria" and "Pridnestrovie" both refer to the Dniester River.

Unrecognised by any United Nations member state, Transnistria is designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Transnistria autonomous territorial unit with special legal status (Unitatea teritorială autonomă cu statut juridic special Transnistria),[3] or Stînga Nistrului ("Left Bank of the Dniester&quot .[4][5][6]

After the dissolution of the USSR, tensions between the newly created Moldova and the de facto sovereign state of Pridnestrovie (which unlike the rest of Moldova did not wish to separate from the Soviet Union) escalated into a military conflict that started in March 1992 and was concluded by a ceasefire in July 1992. As part of that agreement, a three-party (Russia, Moldova, Transnistria) Joint Control Commission supervises the security arrangements in the demilitarized zone, comprising twenty localities on both sides of the river. Although the ceasefire has held, the territory's political status remains unresolved: Transnistria is an unrecognized but independent[7][8][9][10] presidential republic with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, and currency. Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, national anthem, and coat of arms. However, after a 2005 agreement between Moldova and Ukraine, all Transnistrian companies that seek to export goods through the Ukrainian border must be registered with the Moldovan authorities.[11] This agreement was implemented after the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) started its activity in 2005.[12] Most Transnistrians also have Moldovan citizenship,[13] but many Transnistrians also have Russian and Ukrainian citizenship. The largest ethnic group is Moldovan (32.1%), which historically had a higher portion, 49.4% in 1926.

Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia are post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones.[14][15] These four partially recognized states maintain friendly relations with each other and form the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations.[16] [17] [18]