Acting president restates demand for Russia to withdraw troops

Mihai Ghimpu has demanded, in a presidential decree issued Thursday, that Russia withdraw its troops and ammunition from the Transnistrian region of Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The Russian Federation, as legal successor to the USSR, shall withdraw, unconditionally, without delay and transparently, its troops and armament from the territory of the Republic of Moldova”, says one article of the presidential decree, whose main purpose was to declare the date of June 28 as the Day of Soviet Occupation. Mihai Ghimpu recalled that the commitment to withdraw troops from Moldovan soil was assumed by Russia before the international community at the OSCE summit in Istanbul in 1999. “Even more important is the fact that this army has the status of an occupation army and after the proclamation of Moldova's independence it has failed to obtain the consent of our state. Therefore, Russia must withdraw its army and ammunition”, declared the acting president.