The building of the House of Soviets in Tiraspol. Archival photoMOSCOW, July 22The desire of Pridnestrovie to become part of Russia should be taken seriously, this is not a question of the distant future, but «a direction in the short term,» Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told RIA Novosti. Earlier on Friday, Foreign Minister of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Vitaly Ignatiev, in an interview with RIA Novosti, announced the intention of the PMR authorities to seek independence with subsequent accession to Russia in accordance with the results of the 2006 referendum.
The Foreign Minister of Pridnestrovie announced the republic's goal of joining Russia As Belik explained, today Pridnestrovie is «that enclave of Moldova that does not want to be with Romania and at the same time gladly hosted the Russian peacekeeping contingent.» In addition, the deputy believes that the words of the head of the PMR Foreign Ministry should be considered not as «a fashionable trend and a desire to join someone, but as an expression of the will of the population.» «So the proposal of Pridnestrovie to join Russia is not some kind of boundless and distant the future, rather, is a direction in the short term. And because Russian-speaking people live there who are close to us in spirit, we should consider this proposal seriously,» the deputy emphasized.
The Foreign Ministry accused Chisinau of detaining Russian peacekeepers on their way to the PMR. Belik considers another important factor that Moldova is a potential candidate for NATO membership. According to him, if she does not join the alliance, she will be his «favorite partner» — such as Ukraine. «And how the official Chisinau will behave later is unknown,» he said.
