Transnistria’s FM: Integration with Russia remains possible

MOSCOW (AP) — The foreign minister of Moldova’s separatist Transnistria region said Friday that the it is committed to achieving independence and possible unification with Russia, and said Moldova’s becoming a candidate for European Union membership effectively ends any possibility of cooperation. Transnistria, a sliver of land lying between Ukraine and the rest of Moldova, has hosted a contingent of Russian peacekeeping forces since the 1992 end of a separatist war. Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February, speculation has risen that Russia would aim to take control of the territory. In April, a series of explosions in the territory of 470,000 people caused tensions to soar.