TIRASPOL, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - The breakaway Moldovan region of Transdnestr will hold a referendum on independence by the end of September, the unrecognized republic's president said Wednesday.
"We will definitely hold a referendum. I think we will definitely hold it by September or in September," Igor Smirnov told journalists, adding that he would most likely initiate the referendum.
Transdnestr proclaimed independence shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991-92, sparking an armed conflict with Moldova that ended in a ceasefire agreement.
"The referendum is needed to take advice from the people," Smirnov said, adding that he had already held consultations with parliament speaker Yevgeny Shevchuk.
"We can offer you more than one, but two questions," he said, adding that they would most likely touch upon the Commonwealth of Independent States, the loose union of states that replaced much of the Soviet Union, and the path for the republic's development, including with Russia or not.
The initiative to hold the referendum came from parliamentarians, and parliament will decide on the time and parameters of the event, and on possible invitation of international observers, including from the UN.
