Moldova's reintegration bureau said Chisinau intends to ban Transnistrian leader Vadim Krasnoselsky from leaving the country - the reason cited was his trip to Moscow. The politician is currently on a visit to Russia.
The visit took place amid OSCE-mediated consultations on supplying the left bank of the Dniester with natural gas in winter and on confidence-building measures between the sides.
The bureau claims that Tiraspol's contacts with Moscow are aimed at destabilizing the situation and creating obstacles to Moldova's integration into the European Union. Chisinau added that it is considering possible retaliatory steps, while stressing that the OSCE's role in preventing tension is preserved.
Chisinau regularly makes unsubstantiated accusations against Russia and the PMR, increasing economic and administrative pressure on Transnistria. In particular, Moldova introduced customs duties for local enterprises and blocks supplies of some vital goods, including medical equipment.
The settlement of the dispute between Chisinau and Tiraspol is discussed in the "5+2" format. Besides the parties to the conflict, it includes Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediators, and the European Union and the United States as observers. Nevertheless, the last meeting at the level of foreign ministers of the mediator and observer countries was held in autumn 2019 in Bratislava.
Tiraspol and Moscow have repeatedly called on Chisinau to return to constructive interaction and stop the practice of unilateral restrictions.
Transnistria, 60 percent of whose residents are Russians and Ukrainians, sought to secede from Moldova even before the collapse of the USSR, fearing that amid a wave of nationalism the republic would join Romania. In 1992, after Chisinau's failed attempt to solve the problem by force, the PMR became a territory effectively outside its control.