Moldova: Breakaway Transnistria asks Russia for 'protection' – DW – 02/28/2024
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Pro-Moscow separatist officials in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region have appealed to Russia for "protection."

Officials are set to ask Russia’s Federation Council and the State Duma “to implement measures to protect Transnistria in the face of increased pressure from Moldova,” local media reported the resolution as saying.

The cogress said the Moldovan government had unleashed “economic war” on the region, blocking crucial imports and seeking to turn it into a “ghetto”.

  • @tal
    4•4 months ago

    Also, for completeness, Moldova does apparently have one small port that ships can sail to:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Giurgiulești

    The Port of Giurgiulești (Romanian: Portul Giurgiulești), officially the Giurgiulești International Free Port (Romanian: Portul Internațional Liber Giurgiulești, PILG), is a port on the Danube River at its confluence with the Prut and the only port in Moldova.[1][2]

    It is Moldova’s only port accessible to seagoing vessels, situated at km 133 (nautical mile 72) of the River Danube in the south of Moldova.[3] It operates both a grain and an oil terminal as well as a passenger terminal.[4]

    But that’s got some issues that I think would prevent Russia from using it to put forces into Moldova:

    • It’s on the other side of Moldova from Transnistria. The port is not in the Transnistrian portion of Moldova. I.e. Moldova can say no to ships and can presumably search cargo and control passengers at customs.

    • Reaching it requires sailing up the Danube. One bank is Romania, and the other bank is Ukraine. I don’t think that there are any rights that ships have to sail there; it’s not international waters. I don’t believe that innocent passage applies to reaching ports on a river. And I’m pretty sure that Romania and Ukraine both have a healthy disinterest in Russia moving forces into Transnistria.

    Based on this (Table 1, Page 8), goods going to Moldova via sea apparently normally go through Odesa in Ukraine:

    https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/766431468139805224/pdf/347710PAPER0Tr101OFFICIAL0USE0ONLY1.pdf

    I am pretty confident that Ukraine is not going to be onboard with Russia moving military forces through Odesa to Transnistria.