Tiraspol, 12 February. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The collection of signatures in support of the current format of the peacekeeping operation and the presence of the OGRF in Pridnestrovie, which was held across the country from 16 October to 30 November 2017 was summed up in Tiraspol.
The total of 85,282 signatures was collected during the campaign, an NP journalist reports.
According to the head of the signature collection committee, presidential adviser Anna Volkova, this campaign was a response to the hostile actions by Moldovan authorities against the peacekeeping operation and the deployment of Russian troops in the PMR.
"That the Pridnestrovian people have determined its attitude both to Russia and its armed forces is not only testified by the results of the historic referendum of 2006 but also by the results of the earlier referendum of 1995. The Russian military for Pridnestrovians is a symbol of stability and peace in the region," stressed Anna Volkova.
She added that the significance of that poll could be compared with those referendums and that it was another manifestation of democracy.
"The fact that the public itself made such an initiative is extremely important," said Volkova.
It should be noted that the collection of signatures was conducted in organizations and institutions of all forms of ownership and at special signature collection points by public associations. Citizens who reached the age of 16 were able to take part in it. All the signatures will be kept in the state archive; final protocols will be sent to the president, the chairman of the government and the speaker of the parliament.
In 2017, Moldova intensified its pressure on the peacekeeping operation in the region. This resulted in a decision by the Constitutional Court of Moldova to recognise Moldova to be an occupied state and the deployment of the Russian contingent of peacekeepers and the OGRF to be illegal. Subsequently, the Moldovan parliament adopted a declaration on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country, followed by a corresponding appeal to the United Nations. In May 2017, the work of the Joint Control Commission was disrupted: representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry were withdrawn from the Russian delegation because of their announcement persona non-grata and expulsion from Moldova. The Moldovan delegation for the first time in history refused to participate in the celebrations dedicated to the Day of the Introduction of Joint Peacekeeping Forces into the Security Zone.
