The effects of the war in Ukraine are felt in the country’s neighbor, Moldova. The war has brought thousands of refugees to the country and made it difficult to solve the conflict in Transnistria.
Moldova does not often cross the news threshold in the world, but last spring the country’s situation was followed almost non-stop for a while in Finland as well.
In April, there were reports of armed attacks and explosions in Moldova’s Transnistria, the perpetrator and purpose of which remained unclear. The attacks reinforced Moldovans’ fear that the war in Ukraine might spread across the border into the country. Now the worst fear has subsided.
– The concern about the spread of the war has not disappeared, but the palpable panic has decreased, says Antti Karttunen.
Karttunen works as the deputy head of the Moldovan field office of the European Security and Cooperation Organization OSCE.
The small and poor country has received thousands of refugees
Moldova is a small country between Ukraine and Romania. When Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine began in February, the effects of the war were immediately visible in Moldova.
More than 400,000 refugees from Ukraine have arrived in the country. Most of them have continued their journey to other parts of Europe. About 100,000 refugees have remained in Moldova.
According to Antti Karttunen, that is also a huge number, because Moldova is home to around 2.6 million people and the country is the poorest in Europe.
– Moldova was in no way prepared to receive refugees. Compared to that, the country has performed excellently, Karttunen states.
The OSCE also evacuated some of its employees who were in Ukraine through Moldova. Karttunen says that the 13-person office in Moldova received 400 OSCE employees and their family members fleeing Ukraine in a week.
Ukraine and Russia in Moldova as peace mediators
The war in Ukraine also has far-reaching consequences in Moldova, as the war makes it even more difficult to find a solution to the issue of Transnistria.
Transnistria has sought independence from Moldova for 30 years, but no country has recognized its independence.
Attempts have been made to find a final solution to the frozen conflict through negotiations, where Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE act as peace mediators. The European Union and the United States are in the role of observers in the negotiations.
There have been no meetings because of the war.
– At the moment, it is impossible to speculate when the next time a conference can be held, where Russia and Ukraine are on the same side of the table to mediate peace, states Antti Karttunen, deputy head of the OSCE Moldova field office.
Official goal: one and united Moldova
Officially, Transnistria is part of Moldova, but in practice, over the years, the region has built its own administration. For example, Transnistria has all the agencies characteristic of an independent state, its own flag and coat of arms.
– On the Transnistrian side, the so-called border guards guard the border. There are no border formalities on the Moldovan side, because Moldova does not recognize the border, explains Karttunen.
The goal of the OSCE is to find a solution to the conflict, where Transnistria will continue to be part of Moldova.
– This is the official position. What is the final solution, what type of special station is possible, there has been no progress on these questions, says Karttunen.
Russia also signs the vision of a united Moldova, although the country has otherwise supported Transnistria. About one-third of Transnistria’s residents are Russian-speaking, and there are currently approximately 1,500 Russian soldiers in the region.
The communication link remained open despite the war
The OSCE has a dozen field offices, mainly in the Balkans and former Soviet countries. Each field office has its own mission. The Moldovan field office was once established to mediate the settlement of the Transnistria issue. Although the final solution has not been properly discussed in practice for years, progress has been made on smaller problems.
Antti Karttunen considers it important that, despite the war, the communication between Moldova and Transnistria has remained open.
– The chief negotiators of Moldova and Transnistria have met several times. Of course, the war has affected the agenda of the discussions.
For example, Ukraine closed its border with Transnistria, as a result of which new routes had to be found for imported goods. A solution to the problem has been sought through negotiation.
Micro-crises threaten peace
Antti Karttunen has worked on OSCE missions in Moldova for three years. There is one year left of the command, after which Karttunen will return to Finland.
He sees that the mission of the OSCE in Moldova is to calm the situation with its presence and help solve practical problems. A frozen conflict is characterized by new problems appearing alongside the root cause of the conflict.
Antti Karttunen talks about micro-crises, which are often disputes related to everyday interactions. If a solution is not found, the situation can escalate quickly.
In Moldova, one micro-crisis was seen during the coronavirus pandemic, when Transnistria closed its borders to Moldovans citing quarantine orders.
This resulted, among other things, in the fact that the teachers living on the Transnistrian side were almost without a salary, because the money had to be obtained from Moldova.
– We noticed that teachers living on the Transnistrian side only go to the bank in Moldova, and don’t go anywhere else, says Karttunen.