Russia Would Protect Citizens in Moldova in Conflict
Russia on Wednesday vowed to protect its citizens in the Moldovan region of Transdniestr, warning "those who don't think like us" not to meddle in the pro-Moscow breakaway region.
"There is no need to indulge in any illusions about whether Russia will protect its own citizens," the state news agency TASS quoted Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin as saying.
"It unambiguously will. And don't try to test our patience, our strength," the tough-talking official said during a visit to Moscow by the leader of Transdniestr, Yevgeny Shevhchuk.
Tensions with Western-leaning Moldova over the fate of the breakaway region have been festering for years but have gained fresh momentum since fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine in April.
Transdniestr is a strip of land bordering Ukraine, which broke away from Moldova after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and a brief civil war the following year.
It has never been recognized as an independent state by any United Nations' member.
"I would like to tell all those who don't think like us: no need to poke one's nose in Transdniestr, no need to try unleash hysteria on the border, no need to inflame tensions because Russian nationals live there," Rogozin said.
"Protection of the rights of Russian nationals -- no matter how far away they live -- is a direct responsibility of the Russian state."
Moscow has since maintained thousands of troops in Transdniestr, and has for years provided money to prop up the poor region of 500,000 people, which includes some 180,000 Russian nationals.
The Western-leaning government of Moldova, which signed key political and trade agreements with the EU earlier this year, has repeatedly warned Moscow against making any moves that would threaten its territorial integrity.
In March, the Kremlin annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea saying it needed to protect Russian speakers there and stressing the peninsula belonged to Russia before 1954.
The West and Kiev have also accused Moscow of sending regular troops to prop up separatists battling Ukrainian authorities in eastern Ukraine.
Source: Agence France Presse
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