Moldova does not want to hinder Russia from participating in peacekeeping mission in Transnistria, Foreign Ministry

Moldova insistently pleads not for hindering Russia from participating in the peacekeeping mission in Transnistria, but for transforming the current operation into a multinational civilly mandated one that will involve representatives of Russia and other countries. This is how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova responded to the statements made by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrei Nesterenko, who said that Russia’s exclusion from the peacekeeping operations can trigger new armed conflicts in the Transnistrian region, Info-Prim Neo reports. In its statement, the Moldovan Ministry says that when the official Chisinau refers to the munitions stores in Cobasna and the military men who guard them, it pleads for the complete withdrawal of the Russian armed forces from Moldova, in accordance with the international commitments. There is no document allowing these forces to stay in Moldova without the consent of the host country. The Ministry stresses that the role played by the current peacekeeping operation in stabilizing the situation after stopping the armed conflict of 1992 is appreciated by the Moldovan authorities. But the stability that was established on the banks of the Nistru River imposes new requirements and tasks on the peacekeeping mechanism. The mphasis should be now shifted from the separation of the parties to the promotion of confidence building, interaction and integration measures. “We now must build sustainable peace together with all the partners involved in the 5+2 format talks. The consultations on the format, structure and mandate of the future multinational peacekeeping mission can be started and the Moldovan authorities are ready for a constructive dialogue,” reads the statement. In an interview for Ria Novosti last week, Andrei Nesterenko said that Russia is insistently requested to stop taking part in one of the most effective peacekeeping operations given that the Transnistrian conflict settlement talks were suspended in 2006. According to the Russian official, a new wave of confrontations will arise if the conflicting parties discredit the peacekeeping operation. He reminded that no shot was fired in Transnistria during the 18 years after the Russian troops have been deployed in the region.