Artem Fylypenko, the head of the NISS Southern Region Research Unit, attended a seminar on regional security held by the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. This training course is designed for government employees, both civilian and military, from around the world in Garmisch-Pantenkirchen (Germany)
The NISS expert presented the Ukrainian vision of the Transnistrian conflict.
According to Mr. Fylypenko, the Transnistrian conflict is similar to the current conflict in Donbass, which was the result of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The Transnistrian conflict is not a unique phenomenon or a local phenomenon, but part of Russia's policy of retaining control of states that emerged after the collapse of the USSR. After the occupation of Crimea by Russia and the beginning of the war in the Donbass, radical changes took place in the military and political situation in the Black Sea region. Although the Russian contingent in Transnistria is small, it, along with the Russian military contingent in the Crimea and the Russian military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, cover the Northern Black Sea region.
Persons who participated in the creation of the unrecognized Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublika in 1992, such as the former head of the Ministry of State Security of the PMR, Vladimir Antyufeev, in 2014 participated in the Russian occupation of Crimea and the creation of separatist enclaves in Donbass.
Similarly, Russia tested in Transnistria methods of hybrid warfare, which have been later used against Ukraine.
"In today's context, Ukraine needs to take into account the lessons of the Transnistrian settlement of the military conflict," said the NISS expert on Black Sea security
The key point is that separatists who are inspired, financed and armed by Russia cannot be recognized as equal party to the negotiations,
During the Transnistrian settlement of the military conflict, for example, dozens of documents were signed, most of which had not been implemented.
In addition, according to Artem Fylypenko, Russia seeks to impose a model of settlement of the military conflict that would make Moldova incapacitated formation.
Such a model could also be imposed on Ukraine. Mr Fylypenko drew attention to the similarity of the demands of the Donbass separatists with the norms of the Kozak Memorandum - the Russian plan for the settlement of the military conflict by 2023.