Tiraspol - There are some who call it no man's land and some who consider it just a strip of land not far from the former motherland, Russia. The fact is that between the Ukrainian border and the East bank of Dniestr River there is Transnistria, also bordering with Moldova. This is a state, a real country that has its own flag and a capital city, Tiraspol, its own parliament and its own government. This is a "nation" that self-proclaimed itself as such only in 1990, and that for the moment has not been recognized by the international community. Thus it seems to be yet another small appendix of what was once the Soviet empire, but that is not how things stand. This state is an important political-diplomatic-economic centre. Gas supplies in the region are in fact guaranteed by yearly contracts between the Russian-owned Gazprom and Moldovagaz (mixed Russian and Moldavian ownership). Transnistria, however, has a separate "account" amounting to about $900 million and enjoys relatively low prices compared to those reserved to its neighbour. In spite of this, Transnistrian debt is soaring and has reached $700 million and this is object of the dispute between Moscow and Moldavia. The government in Tiraspol has always emphasized its sense of belonging to the great "Russia family" and the threat of a Moldavian invasion. On the other hand in the Republic of Moldava, Transnistria is spoken of as a Russian "occupied zone", which makes dialogue between the parties almost impossible. Hence the stalemate, with the two countries who would like to fight over Transnistria, but due to the debt owed for energy supplies precisely with Russian and Moldavian energy giants, the situation may well continue as it stands for very many years.