Officials of the Russian-backed Moldovan breakaway region of Transdniestria asked Russia on Wednesday to help protect it from what it what described as concerted economic pressure by the Moldovan government.
\nThe \u201ccongress of deputies of all levels\u201d, attended by several ministers in the breakaway government, passed a resolution that agreed to \u201cappeal to the Federation Council and the State Duma of Russia with a request to implement measures to protect Transdniestria in the face of increasing pressure from Moldova\u201d.
\nThe unrecognised statelet, which borders war-stricken Ukraine to the east, has maintained autonomy from the Chisinau government for three decades with support from Moscow, which has more than a thousand troops stationed there.
\nMoldova\u2019s government introduced customs regulations this year requiring companies in Transdniestria to pay import duties into the Moldovan budget.
\nThe region\u2019s economy minister told the congress, held in the regional capital Tiraspol, that this had cut the customs revenues paid into Transdniestria\u2019s budget by 18%.
\n\u201cThere is social and economic pressure on Transdniestria, which directly contradicts European principles and approaches to the protection of human rights and free trade,\u201d read the text of the resolution.
\nBefore it was passed, Moldovan government spokesman Daniel Voda said: \u201cThis is a propaganda event, a trap that does not deserve the attention of foreign journalists or sensational headlines in news bulletins.\u201d
\n(Reuters)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Officials from the Russian-backed Moldovan breakaway region of Transdniestria have requested Russia’s assistance to counteract what they claim is economic pressure from the Moldovan government. This request was formalized through a resolution passed by the “congress of deputies of all levels” in Transdniestria, which includes several ministers from its government. The resolution appeals to the Federation Council and the State Duma of Russia for protective measures against Moldova’s increasing pressure. Transdniestria, an unrecognized statelet bordering Ukraine, has been autonomous from Moldova for three decades with Moscow’s support, including the presence of over a thousand Russian troops. Moldova introduced customs regulations requiring Transdniestrian companies to pay import duties to the Moldovan budget, reducing Transdniestria’s customs revenues by 18%. The resolution claims this constitutes social and economic pressure that violates European principles on human rights and free trade. Moldovan government spokesman Daniel Voda criticized the congress as a propaganda event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[603,33,3,26,415,115,1007,19,1006,1008,17,293,18],"class_list":["post-3435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-autonomy","tag-companies","tag-cyprus","tag-economy","tag-government","tag-human-rights","tag-moldova","tag-russia","tag-trade","tag-transdniestria","tag-ukraine","tag-war","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n