Transnistria Celebrates 28th Anniversary of Republic's Foundation

TIRASPOL (Sputnik) - Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria celebrates the 28th anniversary of the self-proclaimed republic’s establishment on Sunday. The military parade on the central square in Transnistria’s capital of Tiraspol will start at 9 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT).

The celebrations will also include solemn ceremony of laying flowers at the graves of World War II soldiers and victims of the 1992 military conflict, as well as the raising of Transnistria’s flag.

Transnistria, a region with a predominantly ethnic Russian and Ukrainian population, broke away from the Soviet Republic of Moldova in 1990, fearing the country might seek to reunify with neighboring Romania.

The move triggered a war that ended with a ceasefire in July 1992, but the conflict has remained unresolved. Russian peacekeepers have been preserving peace in the region, along with their Moldovan and Transnistrian counterparts.

In late June, the United Nations called on Russia to withdraw its troops deployed in Transnistria. The relevant resolution, drafted by Moldova, was put to a vote at the United Nations on June 22 and was adopted by 64 votes in favor. As many as 14 countries countries voted against the document, while 83 countries abstained from voting.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, stated that the adoption of the UN resolution on the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Transnistria might undermine the fragile progress in the resolution of the conflict in the region.

READ MORE: Transnistria Won't Allow Withdrawal of Russian Troops From Republic — President