Transnistria (also called Trans-Dniestr or Transdniestria) is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the River Dniester and the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine. Since its declaration of independence in 1990, and especially after the War of Transnistria in 1992, it is governed as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR, also known as Pridnestrovie), a state with limited recognition, which claims the territory to the east of the River Dniester, the city of Bender and its surrounding localities located on the west bank. The Republic of Moldova does not recognise PMR and considers Transnistria part of Moldova's autonomous region of Stînga Nistrului ("Left Bank of the Dniester").
After the dissolution of the USSR, tensions between Moldova and the breakaway unrecognised state escalated into a military conflict that started in March 1992 and was concluded by a ceasefire in July 1992. As part of that agreement, a three-party (Russia, Moldova, Transnistria) Joint Control Commission supervises the security arrangements in the demilitarized zone, comprising 20 localities on both sides of the river. Although the ceasefire has held, the territory's political status remains unresolved: while internationally unrecognised, Transnistria is, in effect, an independent state, organized as a presidential republic, with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, and currency. Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, national anthem, and a coat of arms. However, following a 2005 agreement between Moldova and Ukraine, all Transnistrian companies seeking to export goods through the Ukrainian border must be registered with the Moldovan authorities. This agreement was implemented after the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) started its activity in 2005. Most Transnistrians also have Moldovan citizenship, but there are also many Transnistrians with Russian and Ukrainian citizenship.
Because of the Russian military contingent present in Transnistria, European Court of Human Rights considers Transnistria "under the effective authority or at least decisive influence of Russia".
Transnistria is one of post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones, together with Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These four unrecognized states maintain friendly relations with each other and form the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations.
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