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Photo from Ukrinform – UATV
The Moldovan Minister of Defense Eugen Sturza said that Russia cannot be considered a peacekeeper in Transnistria when it provokes Moldova with military exercises.
Sturza wrote on Facebook that the military exercises, wherein Russian troops practice with Transnistrian troops at crossing the river separating Moldova from the separatists, does nothing to engender a feeling of friendship.
Carrying out exercises in the Transnistrian Security Zone using armored trucks without vehicle registration plates is a provocation, not part of a peacekeeping mission, Sturza said.
The OSCE mission, which is located on the Transnistrian territory, expressed its concern. OSCE representatives tried monitoring the exercises, but the Russian military prevented them.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has also been concerned.
“Russian troops located on the territory of Transnistria and generally in the south-west direction pose a threat both for Ukraine and Moldova,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak.
This is the third year Russian and Transnistrian troops have conducted military exercises, Balkan Insight wrote.
The Russian Federation still keeps about 1,500 troops of its former 14th Soviet Army, now called the Operative Group of Russian Troops, OGRT, in the so-called Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic. Moscow also has 400 peacekeepers deployed in the region.
“More than 350 servicemen participated in the military training events and about 30 military equipment were involved. In the framework of training events, servicemen complied with the standards for the special training program for the Russian military contingent of the peacekeeping forces,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
As part of an agreement signed in Moscow in July of 1992, a three-party (Russia, Moldova, Transnistria) Joint Control Commission supervised the security arrangements in the demilitarised zone in Transnistria, comprising twenty localities on both sides of the river. Later the OSCE mission joined to the agreement on settling the Transnistrian conflict between Russian-backed pro-Transnistrian forces and the Moldovan police and military. Prior to the agreement, an armed conflict in the area resulted in approximately 1,000 deaths and 1,500 wounded.
