Moldovan President-elect calls for withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria
Moldovan President-elect Maia Sandu said that Russian troops should be withdrawn from Transnistria. She said this at a press conference.
"There are two parts of Russian troops in the Transdniestrian region. There is a task force, which is located in Moldova without any official documents. There has never been an agreement on the presence of these troops. Moldova has never agreed to allow this group of troops in our country. And these troops should be withdrawn, as well as the weapons and ammunition they are guarding," Sandu said at a press conference.
She noted that there is also the second part of the Russian Armed Forces of Russia - peacekeeping forces.
"The peacekeeping forces are in Moldova in accordance with the Agreement of July 21, 1992. There is currently no threat of a resumption of armed conflict. And we support the transformation of this peacekeeping operation into the Civilian International Mission under the mandate of the OSCE. This is not a new position, it is the official position of Moldova, which has been voiced many times over the years, there has always been such a position," the president said.
"We see that Russia has a different opinion. We will have a dialogue, we will negotiate, we will discuss. We are an independent country that does not want foreign troops in its territory," Sandu said.
The Kremlin has already responded to these statements. According to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the idea of Moldova's President-elect Sandu to replace Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria with OSCE observers has not been discussed with Moscow in advance.
Former Moldovan Prime Minister Maia Sandu won the presidential elections, defeating the incumbent President Igor Dodon in the second round. Dodon’s term expires on December 23.