Tiraspol, August 29. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. A necessary prerequisite for changing of the peacekeeping operation format should be the status determination of Pridnestrovie, the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky emphasized during a traditional press conference on the Republic Day’s eve.
“It’s impossible to change the form of peacekeeping for now,” Vadim Krasnoselsky noted, commenting on the statements of Moldovan President Maia Sandu about the Russian peacekeepers’ withdrawal. “And, by the way, according to the very concept of the negotiation process: first of all, the status is determined, and then the question of the peacekeeping as well as military forces’ presence, and not vice versa, will be considered.”
Touching upon the proposals of some Moldovan politicians to replace peacekeepers with a civilian observers’ mission, the PMR President reminded that such experience already exists. In the year of 1992, such a mission failed to cope with its tasks during the invasion of Moldovan troops into the Bendery and didn’t even bother to write any report on the events.
It should be reminded that in July 1992, Russia stopped Moldova’s armed aggression against Pridnestrovie. Before that, several conciliation commissions, including those with the international representatives’ participation, tried to stop the war on the Dniester. However, the observer mission was unable to prevent attacks of the armed formations of the Republic of Moldova on Bendery in June 1992. The bloodshed stopped only with the Russian peacekeepers’ arrival.
The peacekeeping operation under the Russian Federation’s auspices has been implemented in Pridnestrovie since 1992 on the basis of interstate agreements. Such operation recognized as one of the most successful in history: since the beginning of its operation, military actions haven’t resumed, not a single participant in the peacekeeping mission has perished. In addition to the Russian Federation, the parties to the conflict – the PMR and the RM, as well as a group of military observers from Ukraine are participating in it. The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is formed from the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Pridnestrovie.
At the same time, Moldova has been attempting to withdraw Russian peacekeepers from Pridnestrivie for all these years. This has been stated more than once by the current President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu. Her statements were supported by NATO. The organization’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said that Russia allegedly violates the “territorial integrity of Moldova” by deploying peacekeepers in Pridnestrovie.
Earlier, the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky stated that any attempts to destroy the existing peace guarantee mechanism could lead to a returning of the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict to the situation of the early 90s. Due to the unsettled state and legal relations, Pridnestrovie and Moldova don’t have a comprehensive agreement that would exclude the possibility of resuming direct military confrontation, Vadim Krasnoselsky explained.
