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The Russian Federation is ready to withdraw its troops from the Transnistria region, including its peacekeeping mission, but only after a peaceful solution to the frozen conflict in Dniester is found.
The statement was made on Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his press conference, held this year by videoconference, in the context of the pandemic, reports Deschide.md and IPN.md.
“Maia Sandu, as a representative of a political force, did not say anything new, we have long heard the statements of Western leaders about the need to withdraw our contingent of peacekeepers. Maia Sandu is the President of the Republic of Moldova, but she is also a citizen of Romania. In general, we are in favor of the withdrawal of the (Russian) peacekeepers, but after a favorable situation is created, a decent dialogue will be established between Transnistria and the other side of Moldova, when a peaceful path will be taken. ‘Putin said.
The Russian president recalled the failure of the “Kozak Plan”, which, according to Putin, would solve the problem of Transnistria.
“We with the former president (of the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir) Voronin were very close to this (agreement). But at the last minute, Western leaders pressured him, he resigned, he disassociated himself from the previous agreements and the settlement of the problem. Transnistria was postponed indefinitely. Why? Not at all clear! I later asked my EU counterparts, why did they do that? They said it turned out that way! We won’t focus on the details, but sooner or later this problem will have to be solved “.Putin added.
After the election of the president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu said that Russia should withdraw from Transnistria its ammunition and troops from the Task Force (GOTR), created on the remains of the former Soviet XIV Army in Transnistria, and the mission of the pacification must become civilian under the auspices of the OSCE.
During the Soviet period, the Cobasna warehouse was known as warehouse no. 1411 artillery ammunition, representing the strategic arsenal of the Southwestern Military District of the USSR. But most of the ammunition was stored here after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), Czechoslovakia, and other former Warsaw Pact countries. According to official figures, more than 20,000 tons of weapons and ammunition are currently stored here.
