LEADER OF TRANSNISTRIA DECLARED THAT WITHDRAWAL OF PEACEKEEPING FORCES IS OUT OF THE QUESTION

The leader of Transnistria, Vadim Kranoselsky, said that the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from the region was out of the question. He said this during the ceremony of laying flowers at the foot of the Arch of Peace “Blessed are the Peacemakers”, established in 2017 between Tiraspol and Bender.

The celebrations were held on Wednesday to mark the 28th anniversary of the arrival of Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria and the start of the peacekeeping operation on the Nistru.

"The unique peacekeeping operation operating on the banks of the Nistru has not lost its relevance and value for 28 years, and to this day the Russian military presence remains the basic component of peacekeeping in Transnistria, the peculiarity of which is that the Peacekeeping forces include representatives of the parties to the conflict," said Krasnoselsky.

He stressed that "the most important result of the peacekeeping operation on the Nistru is the preservation of peace."

“The arguments that the operation should be phased out or reformatted are far-fetched and inappropriate. The problem remains, the Transnistrian-Moldovan issue is still open, therefore, the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping forces is out of the question,” the Transnistrian leader stressed.

The peacekeeping operation in Transnistria is carried out in accordance with the Agreement "On the principles of peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova" signed by the Presidents of Russia and Moldova on July 21, 1992. The operation is carried out by a joint peacekeeping force, which currently includes 402 Russian military personnel, 492 Transnistrian, 355 Moldovan and ten military observers from Ukraine. Peacekeepers are serving at 15 stationary posts and checkpoints, which are located in key sections of the Security Zone on the Nistru.