Minister of Defense Eugen Sturza said the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Moldova’s territory is possible, but a country policy that would envision the pullout of the troops together with the munitions and equipment is needed for the purpose. He developed the issue in the talk show “Country” on Vocea Basarabiei TV channel, IPN reports.
“Regrettably, we still play the traditional “one step forward and two steps backward” game when we today say we want the withdrawal, but when the power changes, we say we are friends and need these troops on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. Therefore, we need a very clear country project that would not be changed when a new government comes. There should be continuity, this international pressure on the Russian Federation so that these troops leave the Republic of Moldova once and for all,” stated the minister.
Eugen Sturza said no one has access to the military stores in Cobasna except for representatives of the Russian Federation. Those stores include large supplies of munitions that can no longer be transported and should be destroyed there, on the spot. “They are rather dangerous as they consist mainly of old munitions and international experts should be allowed access to analyze them and see what can be done. We need to identify an international project to have these munitions disposed of, but access to the stores is banned,” he noted.
Since he was appointed as minister of defense, Eugen Sturza hasn’t visited the Transnistrian region. He said he does not yet have what to discuss with the administration in Tiraspol.
Eugen Sturza noted the role of the military exercises held in the Transnistrian region is to train the Russian and separatists troops to act together. “They surely bother us. We permanently discuss these military activities performed on the territory of the Republic of Moldova with the development partners and present documents and action plans of these military and paramilitary troops to them. A part of these military drills are classed as defensive, but I consider they have nothing to do with the defense,” he stated.
The minister also said that the Republic of Moldova should be concerned about all those military exercises and the munitions that exist on the left side of the Nistru.
