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What Putin's Transnistria decree move meant for Moldova
Summary
A look back at a Russian decision on Transnistria and a naval exercise off South Africa, both reported in the days up to 23 February 2023.
What did Moscow's decision on Transnistria mean for Moldova? On 23 February 2023, the question followed a step taken a day earlier: on 22 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin revoked a 2012 foreign policy decree. That decree had underpinned Moldova's sovereignty in resolving the political status of the breakaway Transnistria region.
The revocation touched both Moldova–Russia relations and Russia–Transnistria relations. The 2012 decree had been the Russian basis for treating Moldova's sovereignty as central to settling Transnistria's status, and its withdrawal removed that reference from Russian policy.
A separate exercise in the Indian Ocean
Russia's international posture was also visible further afield. On 17 February 2023, the South African Navy began hosting a ten-day joint military exercise in the Indian Ocean with Russia and China. The drill was named "Mosi II", after the Tswana word for "smoke". It placed South Africa's relations with both Russia and China in the spotlight.
Together, the two developments showed Russian diplomacy and military partnerships moving on separate fronts in the same week.
