Russian military men in Transnistria pose a threat to Moldova, “Promo-Lex”

The presence of the Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria should seriously concern the Moldovan authorities, the head of the Human Rights Association “Promo-Lex” Ion Manole told Info-Prim Neo. The Ukrainian Security Service informed recently that they caught five Russian spies in Ukraine, four of whom form part of the Russian military contingent deployed in Moldova's Transnistrian region. The Service said they were officers of Russia's Federal Security Service who tried to obtain secret military information. In this connection, Ion Manole said the Russian military men deployed in Transnistria have other dirties than to maintain peace. “This clearly shows that they have other tasks. I think this is a reason for concern. Moreover, the Ukrainian authorities said the spies will be expelled to Transnistria, which is a nonexistent entity. This means they will be on Moldova's territory, where they will face no restrictions,” Ion Manole said. “This case points to the necessity of changing the format of the peacekeeping operation in Transnistria. We do not need peacekeepers.” Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, Ion Leahu, who is a member of the Joint Control Commission, said that he does not know whether this subject will be discussed at the coming meeting of the Commission. “The agenda of the meeting is agreed by all the three parties. I'm sure that neither the Russian not the Transnistrian representatives will agree to include the given issue in the agenda,” Leahu said. Asked to comment on the created situation, representatives of the Russian Embassy in Moldova on Wednesday morning said they will call back to express their position, but have not yet contacted the Agency's reporter. The Embassy of Ukraine said they cannot have a dissenting position from that of the Ukrainian Security Service. The Security and Information Service of Moldova did not formulate a response to Info-Prim Neo's request either.