Bendery, 6 October. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. A meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) took place in Bendery. The commission confirmed the appointment of a Russian military observer and heard reports over the situation in the Security Zone over the past two weeks.
The sides also discussed the items on the main agenda. The Pridnestrovian side expressed concern over the ongoing blocking by the Moldovan side of military observers' visits to law enforcement posts in the Security Zone. There were 305 incidents of this kind in the period from 1 October 2014 to 1 October 2016. Moldova's officials explain it by changes in the infrastructure of Pridnestrovian posts. Tiraspol representatives, in turn, argue that these changes have been made to improve service conditions. The infrastructure of Moldovan posts was also changed earlier.
«We say: let's go together and see what is going on. The Moldovan side, in the meantime, is doing its best to hamper the performance of peacekeeping functions," says Pridnestrovie's JCC co-chair Oleg Belyakov in an interview with journalists.
The Pridnestrovian side pointed out the necessity of monitoring the readiness of peacekeeping posts for the autumn-winter season.
A separate subject concerned visits by OSCE Mission representatives to peacekeeping posts. Cooperation between the OSCE and JCC is carried out in the framework of the agreement on the principles of cooperation.
«The Moldovan side says a number of JCC documents do not work correctly. Today the JCC cannot visit the posts; the OSCE Mission wants to perform this function. A logical question arises: once the JCC cannot fulfil its direct duties so far because of Moldova's unconstructive stance, why can the OSCE Mission, which struck a deal with the JCC, perform these functions on its own? As it turns out, the format is changing and the OSCE Mission is assuming monitoring functions. There are clear-cut documents saying that no action may be taken without the JCC["s approval]," said Oleg Belyakov.
«The OSCE Mission should ensure that the sides find mutually acceptable solutions within the framework of the JCC. And we are calling on the OSCE Mission to comply with this," added the co-chair.
