Moldova marks 30th year of independence

By Dimitri Chirciu

CHISINAU, Moldova (AA) - Moldova, stuck between West and Russia, marked three decades of independence on Friday.

Splitting from the Soviet Union, along with other constituent states, Moldova declared independence on Aug. 27, 1991.

While borders were being redrawn after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moldova faced secession from Transnistria – a breakaway state in the narrow strip of land between the Dniester River and Ukraine that proclaimed independence with Russian support.

Armed clashes between Moldova and Transnistria that started the latter’s unilaterally declaring independence ended July 22, 1992. But peaceful resolution efforts to the problem through the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have not yielded a solution to this day.

While Moldova sees the region as part of its territory, Transnistria, which has a parliament and armed forces, wants to be recognized as an independent state.

Transnistria is not recognized as an independent state by any UN member state but houses Russian troops, which are stationed there as “peace-keeping forces.”

Moldova, on the other hand, opposes the presence of Russian troops and wants them removed.

-Gagavuzia

Gagavuzia, a region of predominantly Orthodox-Turks, independence came on Aug. 19, 1990, but was incorporated into Moldova as an autocoups region in 1994 as a result of Turkey’s mediation efforts.

Moldova occasionally experiences political crises because of the situation.

The Moldova Communist Party lost parliamentary elections in July 2009 and in September four pro-western parties formed a coalition government led by Liberal Democratic Party leader Vlad Filat.

In June 2014, Moldova signed an association agreement with the EU, causing Russia to impose import restrictions on agricultural produce, which is a primary source of exports.

In January 2016, Pavel Filip of the pro-EU Democratic Party formed a new coalition government. In November that year, pro-Russian candidate Igor Dodon beat pro-European candidate Maia Sandu in the first direct presidential election since 2000.

In June 2019, pro-western Maia Sandu formed a coalition government with the pro-Russian Socialist Party but the government collapsed in November.

Sandu, who embraces integration with the EU, won parliamentary elections in July 2020 and formed a single-party majority government.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk