Tiraspol's desire to become part of Russia must be taken seriously, as this is not a desire for the distant future, but a "direction for the near future". Statements in this regard were made by Dmitri Belik, a member of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma of Russia.  According to the Russian official, the Transnistrian region is "that enclave of the Republic of Moldova that doensn't want to be close to Romania and, at the same time, happily hosted the Russian peacemaker