President Timofti: Russian troops should be finally withdrawn

“The perpetuation of the Transnistrian conflict undermines our national security and territorial integrity, hampers economic development and divides society”, stated Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti in his speech before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The President stressed that Moldova's policy is focused towards the promotion of dialogue and consolidation of trust between both sides of the Nistru River in order to reintegrate the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders as a functional state with a clear European prospect. He stated that the Transnistrian region should be granted a special status within the Republic of Moldova, which will provide the region with a comfortable level of self-governance. “Defining the special status is the core task of the political negotiations in the 5+2 format, which should generate a reasonable compromise based on principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova”. Nicolae Timofti further stated that Moldova considers as imperative the transformation of the existing military peacekeeping mechanism into an international civilian mission aimed at building confidence rather than separating the sides. “We count that the OSCE, Russian Federation, Ukraine, European Union and the United States will combine their efforts towards the final resolution of the Transnistrian conflict and reintegration of the Republic of Moldova”. President Timofti reiterated that the Russian forces, which are stationed within the territory of the Republic of Moldova without the host nation's consent and in contradiction with constitutional provisions and the international commitments, should be finally withdrawn. "We welcome the PACE resolution adopted yesterday, October 2, on the report regarding honoring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation, in particular on the necessity of withdrawing Russian troops and ammunitions from the territory of the Republic of Moldova". To the question from a Russian parliamentarian whether he considers the recent condemnation of communist symbols a democratic measure, President Timofti answered that he sees no difference between the symbols of Nazism and of communism, under which thousands of people were killed. In his speech before the Parliamentary Assembly, President Timofti also spoke about Moldova's Justice Reform Strategy and other reforms implemented towards achieving European Integration. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is holding its fourth ordinary session during October 1-5.