CHISINAU BELIEVES THAT TIRASPOL IS TRYING TO ESTABLISH BORDER IN SECURITY ZONE

Under the pretext of the coronavirus-caused state of emergency extended until June 1 in the Transnistrian region, the Tiraspol administration is trying to establish a border in the Security Zone. For this, the regional authorities are blocking the work of military observers, maintains the Moldovan delegation to the Joint Control Commission (JCC, the supervisory body for the Joint Peacekeeping Forces).

The delegation reported today that it again raised this problem at the ordinary JCC meeting held in Bendery city on May 21. Moldova fingered at the obstacles to the free movement of people and motor vehicles being put by the Transnistrian side as a result of the unlawful unfolding of border-guard stations and technical installations around the populated areas situated on the eastern Dniester River side but remaining under the Moldovan jurisdiction.

“Tiraspol’s actions are complicating the mechanism of monitoring in the Security Zone. This causes Moldova citizens’ mistrust in the existing mechanism of the peacekeeping operation on the Dniester”, maintain Chisinau representatives.

Insisting on the liquidation of the unlawful border stations and on de-blocking of the military observers’ activities, the Moldovan delegation put forward an idea to include diplomats from the OSCE Mission to Moldova into the group of military observers within the Joint Peacekeeping Forces. Presently the group includes the representatives of Chisinau, Russia, Ukraine and Transnistria.

The Moldovan delegation put forth yet one more initiative – to include into the work agenda the question of studying and assessing the activities of the Joint Military Command on ensuring the functioning of peacekeeping mechanisms. But that initiative was not supported at the Thursday’s meeting.

The Transnistrian side rejected even the Russian representatives’ proposal to analyze the situation in the Transnistria Security Zone after the appearance of the new unlawful border stations. Tiraspol has been rejecting this initiative yet since summer 2019.