TROOP WITHDRAWAL QUESTION WILL BE REMAINING ON UN AGENDA UNTIL THE LAST RUSSIAN SOLDIER LEAVES MOLDOVA - PREMIER FILIP

The question of Russian troop withdrawal from Moldova will be remaining on the United Nations' Session Agenda until the day when the last Russian soldier leaves the Moldovan territory, Prime Minister Pavel Filip stated at the briefing he convened last Saturday on the occasion of the adoption of the Resolution named "On a Full and Unconditional Withdrawal of Foreign Armed Forces from the Republic of Moldova Territory" by the United Nations General Assembly the day before.

Filip stated that the Resolution adoption is the victory of all those who stand for the country's independence and integrity, and is a signal of trust and solidarity from behalf of the international community.

The Premier thanked the states friendly to Moldova which supported the Moldova-drafted Resolution, in particular the countries that acted as document co-authors - Canada, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Great Britain.

Concerning the countries that voted against the document or abstained, the Premier said that, obviously, it is necessary to have more communication and a consistent and pragmatic dialog.

"The Resolution approval does not necessarily mean an immediate removal of Russian troops. But it is important for us to see that the question, which has disappeared from OSCE ministerial meetings' agenda yet since 2003, is again present on the international community's agenda. And we shall not stop on this", stressed Premier Filip. He underlined that the United Nations Resolution does not apply to the Russian peacekeeping battalion present on the Dniester in conformity with the Agreement on the Principles of a Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the Transnistrian Region of the Republic of Moldova of July 21, 1992.

"Sometimes, certain politicians deliberately confuse the Operative Group of Russian Troops and peacekeeping contingent. This only misleads the public opinion", said the Moldovan Prime Minister, who is convinced that the current military peacekeeping mission ought to be replaced with an international civilian peacekeeping mission.

Until 2003, the Russian Federation had withdrawn only a half of its arsenals and military equipment deployed in Transnistria. As a result, about 1,500-1,700 Russian soldiers and officers from the OGRV and some 21 thousand tons of ammunition are still remaining in the Transnistrian region.