Bendery, 25 February. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. A regular meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) made a very tense beginning. The Moldovan delegation refused to start the meeting in the presence of the already introduced but still not approved Russian representative. Only an hour later, after consultations, the Moldovan delegates proceeded to discuss issues on the agenda.
The JCC participants approved the rotation of military observers and listened to reports on the current situation in the Security Zone. As the Pridnestrovian co-chair of the JCC, Oleg Belyakov, told journalists, the monitoring has showed that the situation remains stable, no military preparations are being undertaken. At the same time, according to Oleg Belyakov, it has become evident that the Moldovan side is blocking the scheduled inspection of law enforcement posts by military observers.
«They argue that some changes have allegedly occurred in the infrastructure of posts. Whereas the military component of the peacekeeping operation provides for the evaluation of a situation from the point of view of fortification works, military preparations, the substitution of an old trailer with a new one or the installation of an air conditioner is not an element of warfare preparations. Therefore, we believe that this situation is far-fetched, moreover, in 2013 the Moldovan side also replaced six posts or so," said Oleg Belyakov, adding that the attitude of the Moldovan side was revealing a trend towards the escalation of the situation within the JCC and blocking of its separate elements.
At the same time, the co-chair has noted that the Pridnestrovian delegation is interested to continue the dialogue in the ordinary course.
Following the JCC meeting, the head of the delegation presented Pridnestrovian peacekeepers with state awards on the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day.
