Moldovan president says Russia could use citizenship offer to residents of Transnistria for mobilisation

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has said a decree by Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin simplifying the granting of Russian citizenship to residents of the unrecognised region of Transnistria could be used to mobilise people from the Moldovan region for the war against Ukraine.

Source: Politico, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Sandu noted that "probably they [Russia] need more people to send to the war in Ukraine".

She suggested that this is one of Russia's tactics aimed at threatening Moldova in connection with its efforts to reintegrate Transnistria.

Quote: "Since the war in Ukraine began, most of the people from the region took their Moldovan citizenship because they felt safer to have the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova and not the citizenship of Russia."

Details: When asked whether Putin could block Moldova's accession to the European Union through the Transnistrian issue, Sandu replied that "only the EU can decide whether Moldova can become part of the EU or not. Russia has nothing to do with it."

Background:

• On 15 May, Putin signed a decree simplifying the procedure for granting Russian citizenship to residents of unrecognised Transnistria.
• Following Putin's decree, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed officials to establish contact with Moldova regarding the issue.

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