The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 29th, 2024: Transnistria Troubles & Senate Leadership Shakeup

Episode Date: February 29, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  We look at the small enclave of Transnistria in the nation of Moldova, where pro-Russian authorities have are openly petitioning the Russian government for “protection” against the Moldovan government. A major shakeup is coming in the United States Senate, where the race is on to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Music you can feel fills the room, and no more chat with Danny from accounts. Your life deserves music. Your music deserves Bose. Find your perfect product at Bose.com. It's Thursday, 29 February. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage.

Let's get briefed. First, we'll look at the small enclave of Transnistria in the nation of Moldova. where the self-proclaimed pro-Russian authorities have officially petitioned the Russian government for protection against the Moldovan government. Later, we'll turn our attention to the United States Senate, where the race is on to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. But first, our afternoon spotlight. I want to start things off by drawing your attention to Transnistria.

It's a small, largely Russian-speaking enclave in eastern Moldova. If you're not familiar with Transnistria, and I suspect some of you might not be, it's a small sliver of land situated on the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine. Now, the region declared independence from Moldova in 1990, fearing that Moldova would reunite with Romania and leave its Russian-speaking population marginalized. It's not recognized by the United Nations or any UN member state. It operates essentially as a de facto independent entity with its own government and military. but is officially considered to be part of Moldova.

Now, this led to a military conflict that ended in 1992 with a ceasefire, leaving Transnistria as a frozen conflict zone. On Wednesday, the government of Transnistria officially asked the Russian government to provide protection against Moldovan authorities. The resolution asked the Russian Duma, that's their parliament, to, quote, implement measures for defending Transnistria amid increasing pressure from Moldova, given the fact that more than 220,000 Russian citizens reside in Transnistria, end quote. Moldova's government dismissed the statement yesterday as propaganda, with a government spokesperson stating that,

quote, at this point, we want to say clearly and firmly there are no dangers of escalation and destabilization of the situation in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, end quote. Now, the Transnistrian government has made similar calls in the past, but that, This is the first time since the invasion of Ukraine. This could essentially be an invitation for Russia to further destabilize the region and make moves to integrate the region into the Russian Federation. While it's not clear how Russia may respond to Transnistria's request, they do have some interests in the region.

First, Transnistria hosts a not insignificant number of Russian troops. It's around 1,500, according to estimates. They're officially considered peacekeepers, and are there as, part of a ceasefire agreement from the conflict in the early 1990s. This military presence offers Russia a strategic foothold in Eastern Europe, close to the southeastern borders of NATO and the European Union. There are also strong cultural and historical ties between Transnistria's Russian-speaking population and Russia. Supporting Transnistria is partly driven by a broader Russian policy of protecting the rights and interests of Russian speakers and ethnic Russians abroad.

Supporting Transnistria aligns with Russia's broader strategy of maintaining influence in the post-Soviet space. By backing Transnistria, Russia demonstrates its capability and willingness to protect Russian-speaking populations outside its borders, reinforcing its role as a regional power. Remember, this was Russia's reason behind its war in Ukraine. They claim they invaded in order to protect the nation's Russian-speaking population from Ukrainian oppression. Transnistria can also be seen as a geopolitical tool for Russia to exert pressure on Moldova, preventing its further integration with Western institutions like the European Union and NATO. Moldova's aspirations to join these Western institutions are often challenged by its unresolved

territorial dispute with Transnistria. Though it's not as significant as political and military factors, Russia also has economic interests in Transnistria, including investments and the Transnistrian market's reliance on Russian energy supplies. So far, Russia has been quiet on how it's going to respond to Transnistria's request. The Russian foreign ministry said Wednesday that the protection of Transnistrian residents, including Russian citizens, is one of its priorities, and they promised to consider the appeal. Coming up after the break, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced his intention to step down from his leadership position. We'll take a look at what that means for the

future of the Senate GOP when we come back. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. As I mentioned briefly during yesterday's afternoon bulletin, Mitch McConnell, the longest serving Senate leader in U.S. history, has announced that he's stepping down from the position he's held since 2007. The 82-year-old McConnell said on Wednesday, quote, one of life's most underappreciated talents is to know when it's time to move on to Leipson-next chapter. So I stand before you today to say that this will be my last term as Republican Leader of the Senate, end quote. Senator McConnell didn't give any specific reasons for his decision, but there have been some questions about his health. If you'll remember, he had two very public incidents where he froze up and stopped talking during press conferences. Now, he's not exactly

rushing out the door. He said Wednesday he would quit his post in November when the next leader is selected. He's also planning on finishing out his Senate term, which expires in January of 27. McConnell's announcement was met with a mixed reaction from his colleagues, with some offering words of praise for the Kentucky Republican, and others essentially saying, eh, what took you so long? But while McConnell's legacy will be disputed for years to come, there's no doubt that he's responsible for some of the GOP's biggest victories over the past few decades. Most notably, he was instrumental in helping conservatives maintain and ultimately expand their majority on the Supreme Court. Back in 2016, he blocked President Barack Obama's

efforts to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Scalia. That seat was ultimately filled by Justice Gorsuch after he was nominated by President Trump. It's too early to say who's going to replace McConnell, but as of right now, the frontrunners appear to be minority-whip John Thune of South Dakota, former whip John Cornyn of Texas, and GOB conference chair, John Barrasso of Wyoming. Now, when they talk about passing the torch of leadership along to the next generation, it's worth mentioning that both Barrasso and Cornyn are in their 70s. There's also a couple of wild cards out there, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who challenged McConnell back in 2022, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. There's also some talk among Republicans that, with

the election looming in November, it would be better for McConnell to step aside now and ensure that a new GOP Senate leadership team is in place and able to work with the Republican presidential nominee throughout the election season. And as of now, it certainly appears that that nominee will be former President Trump. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 29 February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.