International recognition of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

(also known as ''Pridnestrovie'') – a disputed region in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

located between

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

– is controversial. Although Transnistria declared independence in 1990, no United Nations member recognises its sovereignty and the region is considered by the UN to be part of

. Currently, only

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which ...

, the

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former ...

and

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...

recognise its independence, all themselves states with limited recognition. Despite not officially recognizing Transnistria's independence,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

has close relations with Transnistria and even established a consulate in the territory.

History

In 1990, a Pridnestrovian Moldavian SSR (PMR) was proclaimed in the region by a number of conservative local Soviet officials opposed to

perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

. This action was immediately declared void by the then

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...

. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991, Moldova, including Transnistria, became independent. The PMR side said Moldova's declaration of independence was ill-conceived and that it considers the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

to be null and void. The PMR side argues that if this is so, then the Moldovans themselves had agreed to relinquish Transnistria, as this territory never belonged to Moldova, nor to Romania before the signing of the agreement between the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. During the 1992 Transnistria War some villages changed hands between the PMR government and Moldova proper. PMR forces have often clashed with Moldova's representatives.

Foreign policy

Government documents from Transnistria state that the republic has "established and maintained friendly relations with countries seeking recognition." To this end, it said that relations would continue to develop in a friendly manner with the three states/political entities it has relations with: the Republic of Abkhazia, the Republic of Artsakh, and the Republic of South Ossetia. It sought to have relations with other foreign countries and international organizations, especially those of Europe, which were seen as "of paramount importance". The pro-European orientation was a consequence of a "general understanding of fundamental values of the world civilization. A lot of Pridnestrovian foreign interests lie in this area. The importance of a harmonic inclusion of Pridnestrovie into the international democratic community makes necessary an active cooperation." Another avenue of importance was cooperation with the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

because its importance "as a mediator in the negotiation process between Moldova and Pridnestrovie... in ensuring regional stability." Transnistria's goal was to "rest on the European experience in the future for its positive political, economic, scientific and technical, and cultural development." Transnistria is member state of the

Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations The Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations (russian: Сообщество за демократию и права народов), also commonly and colloquially known as the Commonwealth of Unrecognized States, rarely as CIS-2 (), is a ...

. The government of Moldova does not actively prevent or seek to prevent representatives of other states from interacting with the government of Transnistria.Berg, E./Pegg, S.: ''Scrutinizing a Policy of "Engagement without Recognition": US Requests for Diplomatic Actions with De Facto States'', in:

Foreign Policy Analysis Foreign policy analysis (FPA) is a branch of political science dealing with theory development and empirical study regarding the processes and outcomes of foreign policy. FPA is the study of the management of external relations and activities of ...

, Vol. 12 (2017).

States which formally recognise Transnistria as independent

UN non-member states

States that do not recognise Transnistria as independent

UN member states

Positions taken by international organizations

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:International Recognition of Transnistria Politics of Transnistria Politics of Moldova Foreign relations of Transnistria