PM asks for including item on withdrawal of foreign military formations from Moldova on UN General Assembly's agenda

Chisinau, 22 September /MOLDPRES/ - Prime Minister Pavel Filip today gave a speech on behalf of Moldova at the 72nd session of the General Assembly of United Nations Organization, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.

In his speech, the prime minister referred, in particular, to the need to settle the territorial conflict from the eastern region of Moldova. Pavel Filip highlighted that this dispute was fueled by the presence of the foreign military forces on the country’s territory and not by the differences of the ethnic or religious origin of the region’s residents. In the context, the PM said that Moldova further spoke out for identifying a viable solution to the Transnistrian problem in the five-plus-two format of negotiations, by observing the country’s territorial integrity and providing a special status to the region from the left bank of Dniester.   

“We believe that the process of settlement might be facilitated by the transformation of the present “trilateral peacekeeping forces” from the Transnistrian region, in which a contingent from Russia participates, into a civilian mission with international mandate,” Pavel Filip said.

At the same time, the prime minister appealed to the international community to support the inclusion of an additional item on the withdrawal of the foreign military formations from Moldova on the agenda of the current session of the UN General Assembly. Pavel Filip specified that, despite the fundamental principles of the international law, Moldovan Constitution’s provisions, as well as the international commitments taken by Russia, the latter’s military troops have not been withdrawn from Moldova’s territory till present either. The PM stressed that the contingent of Russian peacekeepers have a special legal status in comparison with the military troops of Russia.    

“The military exercises held in the Transnistrian region by the Russian troops, with a more and more frequent participation of the paramilitary forces of the Tiraspol breakaway regime, represent a real security provocation against Moldova. These actions are in a glaring contradiction with the obligations to strictly observe the principle of neutrality in terms of the sides involved in the conflict. We firmly reiterate the demand of full and unconditional withdrawal of the so-called Operative Group of Russian Troops, successor of the 14th Soviet Army, which is illegally deployed on the territory of Moldova,” the prime minister said.   

Also, in his speech, the prime minister referred to the process of reforms launched by the Moldovan authorities and reiterated Moldova’s commitment to fully support UN’s efforts aimed at overcoming the present threats to the international security.

“At present, more than ever, a common commitment of the UN member states is needed, in order to effectively respond to the new and old challenges. From this viewpoint, I want to reiterate our full support for Secretary General Guterres for his agenda of reforms, focused on enhancing emphasis on prevention of conflicts, repositioning the development in the focus of the work of the organization and reformation of the UN’s internal management,” Pavel Filip noted.