Transdnestr wants independence

TIRASPOL, Moldova, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Transdnestr, a breakaway region of eastern Europe's Moldova, released a statement Tuesday arguing it, too, wants to be independent.

The state's foreign minister said Transdnestr has the same right to self-determination as Kosovo, which just declared itself a free-standing nation separate from Serbia, the Russia news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"The declaration and consecutive recognition of Kosovo are of principal importance since they create a new model of conflict settlement based on the priority of the right for self-determination of the nation," the statement said.

Moldova became an independent country with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Transdnestr, which has a large population of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, declared its own independence from Moldova in 1990, and Russia intervened on its side.

But the Moldovan government argues that the ethnic and religious differences that separated Kosovo from Serbia do not exist in its conflict with Transdnestr.