Will Saakashvili lead Ukraine into a new war: Transnistria as South Ossetia

"The Odesa region borders Transnistria. If Saakashvili adds fuel to the fire and starts a conflict in that region, the flames could spread to the whole of Moldova," this newspaper writes.
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Mikhail Saakashvili, Petro Poroshenko, Photo: Reuters
Mikhail Saakashvili, Petro Poroshenko, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.
Ažurirano: 12.06.2015. 17:34h

The appointment of the former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, as the governor of Odesa can be a model for conflicts in Moldova, German media write.

As stated, as the governor of Odesa, Saakashvili was able to sample the conflicts in the Moldavian region of Transnistria (Transnistria), writes the German newspaper "Die Taigeskeitung", and reports B92.

The region Moldovans call Transnistria, whose official name is the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic, is an unrecognized state that seceded from Moldova in a referendum in 1990.

This newspaper reports that there are fears in Odessa that Saakashvili will start a war in Transnistria, using the same methods as in 2008 in the conflict with South Ossetia, when Georgia attacked "a small nation in the heart of the Caucasus".

"The Odesa region borders Transnistria. If Saakashvili adds fuel to the fire and starts a conflict in that region, the flames could spread to the whole of Moldova," this paper writes.

This could lead, as stated, to the escalation of conflicts in the region for several reasons.

First, Romania and Moldova are very close, and at one point they even thought of unification, using the German model.

Second, Romania is a member of NATO, which means, as the "Sputnik" agency reports, that if Bucharest gets involved in the conflict, the entire alliance could support it.

The Azerbaijani portal "Hakin" writes that if you take into account that there are about 1.200 members of the Russian forces in the Transnistria region, who have been in charge in that region since 1992 after a two-year war, the involvement of NATO, Russia and Ukraine in that area could lead to serious consequences.

"Even if NATO and Russia avoid major conflicts, the new governor of Odesa could lead Ukraine to a war on two fronts – one in Transnistria, and the other that already exists in Donbas," this portal states.

Last month, Ukraine decided to prevent Russian peacekeeping forces from entering Transnistria, due to what officials said was a violation of a 1992 peace treaty between Moldova and Transnistria.

"This decision undermines Kyiv's status as one of the guarantors of peace in Transnistria and may lead to conflict in the entire region," Transnistrian Foreign Minister Nina Santsky said.

According to Transnistrian officials, activities of both the Ukrainian and Moldovan sides in the vicinity of this area have been recorded on several occasions.

As "Sputnik" writes, the question of whether the former Georgian president will respect the agreement on Transnistria, but also that earlier examples have shown that this may not be the case, alluding to the events in South Ossetia.

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