Transnistria opposes Russian troop withdrawal before conflict is resolved — lawmaker

CHISINAU, June 5. /TASS/. Transnistria opposes the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from the security zone of the Dniester conflict before the issue is resolved through the "5+2" talks involving international mediators and the parties to the conflict (Moldova, Transnistria, Russia, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), along with observers from the US and EU), Andrey Safonov, head of the unrecognized republic’s parliamentary committee on foreign policy, told TASS.

"At the 2006 referendum, the people of Transnistria voted in favor of preserving the presence of Russian peacekeepers, who halted the deadly conflict on the banks of the Dniester River back in 1992 after it was unleashed by Chisinau. The issue of Russian troop withdrawal, which the Moldovan authorities insist on, can be resolved only after a final solution to the Transnistria conflict is found at the negotiating table as part of the 5+2 process, with the participation of international mediators. However, Moldova’s authorities have been avoiding talks on this platform for seven years, despite calls from the Transnistrian leadership and the mediators," Safonov noted.

He pointed out that Moldovan President Maia Sandu had stated shortly after her 2020 election that she had no plans to meet with Transnistrian President Vadim Krasnoselsky, despite his repeated invitations to discuss and address the problems facing people on both sides of the Dniester. "Chisinau appears to have deliberately stalled the negotiation process, while demanding that Russia and Transnistria agree to the withdrawal of peacekeepers as it seeks to please its sponsors in Brussels, who are pursuing an anti-Russian policy," Safonov stressed.

Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the combat zone on July 29, 1992, in accordance with the Agreement on the Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the Dniester Region of the Republic of Moldova that the presidents of Russia and Moldova had signed in the presence of the leader of Transnistria on July 21, 1992. They maintain peace in the security area of separation along the Dniester River together with the blue helmets of Moldova and Transnistria, and a group of military observers from Ukraine. The Operational Group of Russian Forces, also stationed in the region, numbers approximately 1,000 soldiers and officers. It is tasked with both supporting the peacekeeping operation and guarding warehouses housing over 20,000 tons of ammunition, brought there after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from European countries. Chisinau suggest