CHISINAU, August 22. /TASS/: Relations with Russia are a strategic priority for the unrecognized Transnistrian republic, its leader Vadim Krasnoselsky said on Monday in his congratulations on the occasion of Russia's State Flag Day.
"An unshakable strategic priority for the Transnistrian people is strengthening and further developing multifaceted bilateral relations with the Russian Federation, a responsible and reliable partner, the guarantor of peace and stability on Transnistrian soil," Krasnoselsky’s press service quoted him as saying. According to him, the Russian flag is a vivid symbol of solidarity of the people and the state, its determination to uphold values and priorities, and commitment to justice.
In Transnistria, where more than 200,000 Russians live, the Russian flag has been used just like the state flag since 2017.
The Transnistrian Republic was proclaimed on September 2, 1990, on the left bank of the Dnieper River; it has a predominantly Russian-speaking population. These events occurred amid an upsurge of Moldova’s nationalist movement, where the Popular Front, which came to power, proclaimed its course for unification with Romania. After the collapse of the USSR in 1992, the confrontation escalated into an armed conflict, which was stopped by Russian peacekeepers.
Since 1993, Chisinau and Tiraspol have been negotiating a resolution to the conflict, in which Moldova offers Transnistria the status of "special autonomous territorial unit". The authorities in Tiraspol insist on independence and rapprochement with Russia, pointing out that in a referendum in 2006, 97% of the region’s population voted for it.
