Russian military forces continue to occupy Moldova’s territory 16 years after signing of pullout agreement

Acting President Mihai Ghimpu issued a statement, saying the Russian military forces continue to station in Moldova’s eastern districts 16 years after the signing of the Moldovan-Russian agreement on the pullout of these troops from Moldova’s territory, in breach of the international law and the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, which bans the deployment of foreign troops on the country’s territory, Info-Prim Neo reports. The statement also says that the illegal foreign military presence fuels separatism. The secessionist leaders in Tiraspol see a moral, political and material support for their actions in the presence of the Russian troops in Moldova’s Transnistrian region. This presence seriously undermines the international community’s efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict, the statement reads. Mihai Ghimpu voices hope that in the context of the negotiations to revitalize the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and the preparations for the OSCE Summit, Moldova’s position on the illegal presence of the Russian troops on its territory will be heard and taken into account. Otherwise, Ghimpu says, the ratification of the CFE Treaty, even ‘revitalized’, will be a problem. The Moldovan-Russian agreement on the pullout of the Russian troops from Moldova’s territory was signed on October 21, 1994. It says the Russian troops are stationed on Moldova’s territory temporarily and will be withdrawn during three years. At the OSCE Summit in Istanbul in 1999, Russia pledged again to pull out its troops from Moldova.