What is Moldovas Transdniestria?
March 18 (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was on Wednesday brokering peace talks between the Moldovan president and the leader of the ex-Soviet state’s separatist Transdniestria region. For a story on the talks, click on [ID:nLI640596]. Here are a few facts about Transdniestria: * A tiny sliver of land on the Dniester river, Transdniestria declared its independence from Moldova in September 1990. The region is dominated by Slavs, who pressed for independence on fears Moldova’s Romanian-speaking majority would one day become part of Romania to the south, restoring the status quo before the Soviet Union took control in 1940. * The region’s Russian-speaking hardliners fought a brief war with Moldova in 1992 and hundreds were killed on both sides before Russian troops stopped the fighting. About 1,200 Russian soldiers remain and guard some 20,000 tonnes of Soviet-era weaponry and ammunition. * Subsequent referendums inside Transdniestria have produced big majorities for indepe
