Pridnestrovie's Prime Minister, Tatyana Turanskaya, members of the Joint Control Commission, commanders of the peacekeeping contingents, Bendery's leadership, military attaché of Russia and Ukraine to Moldova and representatives of the OSCE Mission in Kishinev came to congratulate peacemakers.
Festive events began with a traditional rally. The co-chairs of the Joint Control Commission noted in their speeches the efficiency of the peacekeeping operation in the zone of the Pridnestrovian conflict. Russia's co-chair, Evgeniy Vereshchaga, highlighted the uniqueness of its format (the only operation with the participation of conflicting parties).
In his turn, the Moldovan co-chair in the JCC, Ivan Solonenko, underscored: «The introduction of peacekeepers into the conflict zone stopped the active hostilities. As a result, the conflicting parties were divided, and the bloodshed was stopped. Over 23 years the Joint Peacekeeping Force has been successfully fulfilling its direct task of controlling the observance of the ceasefire and confidence-building agreement,"
The head of Pridnestrovie's delegation, Oleg Belyakov, emphasised the lack of an alternative to the present peacekeeping format. He reminded the audience about the joint statement made by the presidents of Russia, Pridnestrovie and Moldova on 17 March 2009, according to which the mission format can be changed only after a comprehensive political solution to the conflict is reached.
«Pridnestrovie considers the fundamental principles of the joint statement made by the leaders of Russia, Moldova and Pridnestrovie on 18 March 2009 in Moscow are still relevant today. The statement says that the present peacekeeping format plays a stabilising role and offers the unique possibility to Tiraspol and Kishinev to agree on a peaceful settlement of the conflict. In compliance with the agreement, the change of format is only possible after the conflict is entirely resolved," said Oleg Belyakov.
Among the latest positive moments in the work of the Joint Peacekeeping Force, Pridnestrovie's co-chair noted the emerging collaboration between the peacemakers and law-enforcement agencies of Moldova and Pridnestrovie. At the same time, Oleg Belyakov recalled that there have been no military exercises of the Joint Peacekeeping Force in the past two years as Moldova does not want to participate in them.
«It is disappointing that one party refuses to take part in the joint complex military exercises, which used to take place twice a year," said Oleg Belyakov.
«The military contingents maintain co-ordination. It was proved by military readiness reviews, which used to take place on a regular basis. Unfortunately, they have not been conducted in the past two years. The military of different contingents serve jointly at peacekeeping checkpoints. We have three unilateral checkpoints. There are four bilateral checkpoints, but the majority of peacekeeping checkpoints are trilateral," said the commander of Pridnestrovie's peacemakers, Nikolay Nikonov in an interview with journalists.
According to him, the Joint Peacekeeping Force currently includes 1,159 servicemen (378 Russian, 362 Moldovan, 409 Pridnestrovian and 10 Ukrainian), 112 of whom are serving at the checkpoints in the Security Zone on that holiday.
The official part was concluded with a ceremonial parade of servicemen representing all three contingents and a group of Ukraine's military observers. Senior commanders presented peacemakers with awards and gifts of value. The Pridnestrovian peacemakers were congratulated by the prime minister, Tatyana Turanskaya, and Pridnestrovie's JCC co-chair, Oleg Belyakov.
At the conclusion of the official part, the soldiers of reconnaissance sub-units showed their proficiency with the weapons and close fight skills. The audience was shown the elements of everyday service and, in particular, the inspection of motor transport at a checkpoint. This time, there was «an incident»: a «gun was found» in the car. In a split second, the peacemakers were raised at the command «Get your rifles!» and the violators found themselves neutralised on the grass. Such situations have not occurred in the Security Zone so far, but the peacemakers showed they are ready for any unexpected incident. The trainees of a children's jujitsu group also showed their skills, after that a concert, organised by on-stage performance groups from Pridnestrovie and Moldova, began.
Besides, all-comers could visit an exhibition featuring 23-year-old events, look at arms and military hardware samples adopted by peacemakers and taste soldiers' food.
