Transnistria May Face Conflict Escalation Risk Amid Negotiation Process Stagnation

TIRASPOL (Sputnik) - There is a risk of conflict escalation in Moldova's unrecognized breakaway region of Transnistria due to the stagnation of the negotiation process, the region's head, Vadim Krasnoselsky, told Sputnik.

"Against the backdrop of the negotiation process stagnation, including the politically motivated blocking of the 5+2 format, there is a risk of a conflict escalation. The peacekeeping mechanism effectively fulfills its mission in this sense, and at least ensures the manageability of the situation in the security zone, on the line of direct demarcation. This is the key factor," Krasnoselsky said.

The 5+2 format of talks between Moldova and Transnistria, an unrecognized state, includes Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as mediators, with the United States and the European Union serving as observers.

There is currently an international peacekeeping force in the region, composed of Russian, Moldovan and Transnistrian troops. Ukraine withdrew its peacekeepers after the start of the Russian special military operation in February 2022.

Krasnoselsky also said that Transnistria has appealed to the OSCE against the training of sabotage groups in Moldova but there has been no appropriate response so far.

The Transnistrian Ministry of State Security reported earlier that foreign specialists were training combat groups in Moldova, including Ukrainians, to carry out terrorist acts and sabotage of military facilities in the PMR. Transnistria’s Ministry of State Security reported the prevention of a terrorist attack on March 9 last year in Tiraspol allegedly planned against PMR officials at the behest of the Ukrainian Security Service. In May 2022, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Transnistria, including attacks on the buildings of the Ministry of State Security, a military unit, a radio and television center, and a military recruitment office.