The administration of the Transnistrian region decided to expand the militate contingent in Bender town. The Moldovan delegation to the Joint Control Commission (JCC) describes this act as a new provocation and calls on Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE to intervene and prevent the situation in the Security Zone from worsening, IPN reports.

According to a statement of the Moldovan delegation to the JCC, Tiraspol has insisted on the necessity of increasing the number of Transnistrian military men since the end of last year.  The Transnistrian side didn’t provide plausible arguments for such a step as there is an equal number of Moldovan and Transnistrian peacekeepers in that area.

The delegation said that the Transnistrian side already took the decision unilaterally and brought a larger number of soldiers to Bender. The Moldovan side’s request not to allow them to be there is blocked by the command of the Transnistrian armed forces.

The soldiers entered Bender through checkpoint No. 10 that is unilaterally controlled by the Russian peacekeepers. The Moldovan delegation to the JCC considers that this is a reason for returning to the discussions that this checkpoint should be controlled by peacekeepers representing three sides.

The delegation called upon Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE, which have representatives on the JCC, to demand that the additional military men leave Bender so as to avoid the worsening of the situation in the Security Zone.