President of Moldova speaks against withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria
In his statement on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the beginning of the peacekeeping operation in Transnistria, Moldovan President Igor Dodon said that he is in favor of keeping the so-called peacekeeping mission in the Dniester valley security zone, which includes Russian military personnel, Ukrinform news agency reports.
"On July 29, 1992 ... military troops were deployed to carry out a joint peacekeeping operation in the security zone on the banks of the Dniester. Despite any criticism, I am confident that the Dniester area needs the presence of a peacekeeping force and will support its continuance," said Dodo.
According to him, the main result of the peacekeeping operation is "restoring peace, creating conditions for the political process of negotiations, as well as avoiding crisis situations that could lead to the use of weapons between the conflicting parties."
The President of Moldova also emphasized the need for a negotiation process in the "5 + 2" format (Moldova and Transnistria – as parties to the conflict, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Russia – as intermediaries, EU and the United States - as observers) for the political settlement of the Transnistrian conflict.
The peacekeeping mission on the Dniester banks was introduced in 1992 after the end of the armed conflict. This mission consists of soldiers from Russia (about 400 persons) and Moldova (300 persons), as well as 10 military observers from Ukraine.