Bendery, 5 October. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. During a press conference on the occasion of Bendery's 609th anniversary, the city's mayor, Roman Ivanchenko, was asked about the presence of the peacekeeping forces in the city amid increased pressure on the peacekeeping operation. It should be noted that Bendery has the status of a high security zone in accordance with the peaceful settlement agreement.
According to Ivanchenko, city residents are concerned about statements by individual Moldovan politicians and public figures about the need to pull out Russian military personnel and transform the peacekeeping operation.
"Our deeds are the best response. We can see a monument to General Lebed, Bendery's city council decided to confer the title of honorary citizen on Rutskoy, who gave a direct command to deploy peacekeepers, as well as the opening of the Peacekeepers' Alley. We are grateful to the peacekeeping forces and especially the Russian contingent who has been mainataining peace and order in the region for 25 years," underscored Ivanchenko.
"We'll stand up for the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Bendery and the country as a whole," said Ivanchenko.
In May, the Constitutional Court of Moldova declared the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Pridnestrovie illegal. The Russian military was equated to the occupying forces. The Moldovan authorities attempted to disrupt the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the peacekeeping operation. The Modlovan peacekeeping contingent refused to take part in the celebration, and Russia's vice premier, Dmitry Rogozin, was denied entry to Moldova. After that the Russian military attaché, who was also a memeber of the Joint Control Commission, was declared persona non grata. The Moldovan authorities tried to put the issue of Russian peacekeepers in Moldova on the UN Genaral Assembly's agenda. Members of Moldovan public organisations also bring oil to the fire, proposing the country's leadership to withdraw from the 1992 peaceful settlement agreement. Members of Pridnestrovian veteran organisations and trade unions have announced the collection of signatures in support of the current format of the peacekeeping operation and against the withdawal of Russian peacekeepers and OGRF soldiers.
