Sandu comments on Kremlin’s efforts to simplify issuing of Russian passports to residents of Transnistria

Moldovan President Maia Sandu reacted strongly to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s decree simplifying the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for Transnistrian residents, calling it a tool for mobilizing for war against Ukraine.

According to Ukrinform, Politico reported this.

Sandu suggested that Putin’s decree was one of Russia’s tactics—to threaten Moldova over its efforts to reintegrate Transnistria, which Moscow supports.

She added that “probably they [Russians] need more people to send to the war in Ukraine.”

“Since the war in Ukraine began, most of the people from the region took their Moldovan citizenship because they felt safer to have the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova and not the citizenship of Russia,” Sandu emphasized.

Moldova, which received candidate status for European Union membership in 2022, officially began accession negotiations in 2024.

When asked whether Putin could block Moldova’s EU membership over the Transnistria issue, Sandu replied that “only the EU can decide whether Moldova can become part of the EU or not. Russia has nothing to do with it.”

Read also: Moldova reacts to Putin's decree simplifying Russian citizenship for Transnistria residents

As reported by Ukrinform, on May 16, Putin simplified the process of obtaining citizenship for residents of Transnistria and signed a decree “On the Admission of Transnistrian Residents to Citizenship of the Russian Federation.”

Photo: Facebook / Maia Sandu