«The Pridnestrovian delegation to the Joint Control Commission has carefully studied the Moldovan defence minister's public statements circulated in the mass media. The character and contents of these statements suggest Moldova's intention to take a number of destructive military and political actions which may ruin the established state of peace and security in the region, guaranteed by the present three-sided peacekeeping operation," says the statement by Pridnestrovie's JCC delegation.
The statement, in particular, recalls that on 20 August 2015, in Bucuresti, the defence minister said joining Nato is the target of Moldova and his own „as the minister“ representing Moldova's Liberal Party.
Moreover, the high-ranking official announced his willingness to be very belligerent and struggle for the balance of powers in Moldova.» It is significant that the two key factors, according to the Moldovan authorities, constituting a threat to a certain «balance of powers» are «the contingent of the Russian military» and «the Pridnestrovian army». The defence minister also revealed the variants to ensure the so-called «balance», including the decisions «to join Nato» or «deploy foreign military in Moldova».
The Pridnestrovian delegation considers these statements by Moldova's defence minister, the official entitled with corresponding powers and competence in the military sphere, as very threatening for securing peace in the Security Zone.
«In this regard, the Pridnestrovian delegation expresses serious concern and hope that this situation will be clarified since such public statements may destabilise, first of all, the peacekeeping operation, aggravate tensions and provoke nervousness among the citizens of Pridnestrovie and Moldova permanently residing in the Security Zone. Moreover, this succession of actions is evidence of a possible fundamental revision by official Kishinev of approaches in the military sphere and, possibly, to the cooperation with the Pridnestrovian and Russian contingents within the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Security Zone," note Pridnestrovie's representatives to the JCC.
«The practical evidence of Moldova's destructive approach within the peacekeeping operation is its complex of unilateral measures aimed at revising legal foundations and phased destruction of the current mechanism of the operation, including the refusal to take part in operational readiness tests and inspections of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Security Zone. At the same time, there are provocative incidents including the penetration of foreign military units to the Security Zone, which constitutes a grave breach of the 1992 Agreement, as it was on 26 March 2015 in the Central Sector of the Security Zone near the junction of the M-14 route and the Balabanesti-Cimiseni road (Square 1262) during the joint military exercise of Moldova's army and the National Guard of South Carolina (USA). Such unilateral hostile actions put at risk the peacekeeping operation in Pridnestrovie and threatens to seriously aggravate the situation in the Security Zone, which is fraught with unpredictable negative consequences," note Tiraspol's official spokespersons.
The Pridnestrovian delegation requested the Moldovan delegation to present official information on urgent issues directly related to the provision of peace and security.
In particular, the official Moldovan spokespersons are requested to answer the following questions:
1. Could the Moldovan defence minister's statement that «joining Nato is the target of Moldova» be deemed Moldova's official task and guideline in carrying out the peacekeeping operation?
2. Could the Moldovan delegation confirm the readiness to implement the defence minister's statement on the intention «to deploy foreign military to Moldova»?
3. Could the Moldovan delegation confirm the defence minister's statement on «the threat» on the part of «the contingent of the Russian military» and «the Pridnestrovian army»?
Considering the urgency of this issue, Pridnestrovie's JCC delegation considers it advisable to discuss the Moldovan defence minister's public statements at the nearest JCC meeting «in order to receive answers from the Moldovan authorities to the above questions and to reveal in detail all aspects of the very threatening situation surrounding the peacekeeping operation in the Security Zone.»
