President of the unrecognised Moldovan Republic of Transnistria Igor Smirnov assumes holding a referendum on annexation of Transnistria to Ukraine, he has announced in an interview with Ukrayina Moloda newspaper, quoted by Ukrainian news. “A wish to be with Ukraine, I guess, has not disappeared. Of course, from the very beginning it was the idea of ukrainedom… Let the Ukrainian community create the order, hold a referendum and that’s all. And if the people decide to be with Ukraine, then so be it,” said Smirnov when asked if it was possible that the Transnistrian people would decide that the region to become an autonomy within Ukraine.
Smirnov recalls, from 1924 to 1940 the region once was constituent of Ukraine as the major part of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. “On the whole, this is the territory of Ukraine, if speak frankly. I specify, of Soviet Ukraine, within the USSR. As Transnistria was an autonomous part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic for sixteen years,” he stressed.
The Transnistrian leader is sure of future recognition of the republic’s independence from Moldova, ruling out reunion with it.
