Pro-Moldovan journalists and commentators continue to present a distorted picture of Pridnestrovie. One press report claimed that the country is “a black hole” and "a smuggling company masquerading as a country". The fact that both of these allegations are untrue doesn’t deter the black propagandists. They do Moldova's bidding over an expansionist claim to territory which historically was never part of Moldova to begin with.

Lured by the wealth of Pridnestrovie's industries, Moldova still presses its dubious territorial claim on Pridnestrovie. The accusations that Pridnestrovie is somehow involved an authoritarian "black hole" of crime and sleaze is a manufactured myth, designed as propaganda by a country which wants to control a land which was never theirs to begin with. But it has been more fifteen years after the inevitable breakup of the artificial Stalin-era construction which was called the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic; a synthetic administrative region within the Soviet Union which was created artificially and only held together by the represssive power of repressive communism.

Western diplomats in Moldova and Ukraine say reports of massive arms and drug smuggling emanating from Pridnestrovie appear to be wildly exaggerated. Officials from the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), say they have no evidence that Tiraspol has ever trafficked arms or nuclear material. This was the news in a report by U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty on 11 October 2005, attributing the alarm to destabilizing efforts by the Moldovan government in an effort to increase pressure on Pridnestrovie.

None of the many EU, OSCE, and Ukrainian officials interviewed by RFE/RL in Moldova and Ukraine said they have seen evidence that Tiraspol is involved in trafficking arms   or nuclear material for dirty bombs.
Yet on 7 October 2005, the charge was made by Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan. Stratan did not elaborate when pressed by RFE/RL.

OSCE officials interviewed by RFE/RL say such claims are exaggerated. An ambassador to Chisinau from a large EU member state told RFE/RL there is "not a shred of evidence" to back up the allegations. An EU official based in Brussels said an EU delegation that toured the Moldovan-Ukrainian border area for 10 days in August did not manage to unearth a single source claiming to have information about weapons smuggling.

On the second day of her visit to Moldova, the EU's external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, changed her speech at the last minute to remove a paragraph emphasizing that Pridnestrovie smuggles weapons. The commissioner said she has "never" seen any evidence for these charges.

Pridnestrovie makes a living from legitimate exports such as textile, the world famous Kvint brandy, electrical supplies, clothes, shoes, metal and construction materials. In Soviet times, it was developed as an industrial region and its concentration of working factories of light and heavy industry is much higher than in Moldova.

The authorities in Pridnestrovie vehemently deny that they engage in smuggling. President Smirnov points out the obvious: That Pridnestrovie is a landlocked country. If such illegal activity takes place it could only do so with the cooperation of its neighbours, neither of which have been targeted for attack in the same way.

Rouslan Slobodeniuc, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, pointed out that “both Ukraine and PMR are under such close scrutiny by the EU that it makes contraband smuggling impossible. European observers have a permanent mission on our borders”.

In addition, an electronic system is in place to control Pridnestrovie’s borders, under the scrutiny of “different European commissions”, which subject everything crossing the PMR and Ukrainian border to surveillance via two electronic codes for both imported and exported goods. “Straightforward smuggling is impossible” said Slobodeniuc adding that “accusations that it takes place with official knowledge or approval should not be taken seriously."

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