MOLDOVA-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-EU-POLITICS-CRISIS-TRANSDNIESTR

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ISABELLE WESSELINGH- Vegetable sellers work at the central market in Chisinau, Moldova on March 20, 2014. The president of the former Soviet republic of Moldova March 19 called on the European Union to speed up his country's integration, as Moscow tightened its grip on Crimea.Pro-Western President Nicolae Timofti's appeal came a day after he cautioned Moscow against trying to annex Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestr as President Vladimir Putin signed a historic treaty to make Crimea part of Russia.Officials in Russian-speaking Transdniestr earlier reportedly appealed to lawmakers in Moscow to pass legislation that could see the region absorbed into Russia. AFP PHOTO DANIEL MIHAILESCU (Photo credit should read DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)