Moldovan foreign affairs ministry demands unconditional withdrawal of Russian military forces from Moldova

Chisinau, 31 January /MOLDPRES/ - Press releases published on the official webpage of the Russian Defence Ministry show that the Operative Group of Russian Troops (OGRT), deployed in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, has started holding military exercises, the goals of which are, inter alia, “to counteract terrorism” and train servicemen “to act in conditions of use by the enemy of mass destruction weapons,” the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry’s (MAEIE) public diplomacy, strategic communication and media interaction service has reported.

In connection with this, the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry reiterates its perplexity and indignation about the provocative behaviour of the Russian troops illegally deployed in the Transnistrian region, which, despite protests repeatedly expressed by the Moldovan authorities, continue carrying out military activities with dubious goals. The Moldovan authorities’ worry in this respect is enhanced also by the fact that the power wielding structures of the Tiraspol breakaway regime are involved in the exercises held by OGRT.  

While vehemently condemning such military activities, which cannot be perceived in another way but as a direct and brutal threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova, MAEIE repeatedly reminds about Russia’s commitment to withdraw its troops from the territory of Moldova, in particular, about the one contained in the agreement on the principles of peaceful settlement of the armed conflict from Moldova’s Transnistrian region, signed in Moscow on 21 July 1992.   

In the same context, MAEIE reiterates the Moldovan authorities’ demarche on the need of unconditional withdrawal of the Russian military forces from Moldova and starting discussions on the transformation of the present peacekeeping operation into a civilian mission with international mandate.