On the air of the TVC channel, Member of the Federation Council, Senator Alexey Pushkov said that Russia should provide security guarantees for Russian citizens living in Pridnestrovie.
“220 thousand Russian citizens live in Pridnestrovie. And we are obliged to provide security guarantees for them because Moldova cannot cope with this. Moldova tried to solve this problem by force in the early 1990s, which is why our peacekeepers appeared there. We are a guarantee of peace in Pridnestrovie, not conflict. That is why we are there, that is why we should not leave. Because Stoltenberg (NATO Secretary General - ed.) does not offer a solution to the issue. He says we must leave. Why should we leave? We are a safety factor there. And this is widely recognized. There are no armed conflicts thanks to our presence,” Alexey Pushkov said.
Recall: in July 1992, Russia stopped the armed aggression of Moldova against Pridnestrovie. Before this, several conciliation commissions, including those with the international representatives` participation, tried to stop the war on the Dniester. However, the mission of observers could not prevent the attacks of the armed formations of the Republic of Moldova on Bendery in June 1992. The bloodshed only stopped with the arrival of Russian peacekeepers.
A peacekeeping operation under the auspices of the Russian Federation has been implemented in Pridnestrovie since 1992 based on interstate agreements. It is recognized as one of the most successful ones in history: hostilities have not resumed, not a single member of the peacekeeping mission has died since the beginning of its operation. In addition to the Russian Federation, the parties to the conflict take part in it - the PMR and the Republic of Moldova, as well as a group of military observers from Ukraine. The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is formed from the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Pridnestrovie.
At the same time, Moldova has been trying all these years to withdraw Russian peacekeepers from Pridnestrovie. This, in particular, was repeatedly stated by the current President of the Republic of Moldova, Maya Sandu. Her statements were supported by NATO. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of the organization, said that Russia allegedly violated the "territorial integrity of Moldova" by deploying peacekeepers in Pridnestrovie.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly noted that the withdrawal of peacekeepers was only possible after the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict settlement.
Earlier, the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky said that any attempts to destroy the existing peace guarantee mechanism could lead to the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict rollback to the situation of the early 90s. Due to the unsettled state-legal relations, Pridnestrovie and Moldova do not have a comprehensive agreement that would exclude the possibility of resuming direct military confrontation, Vadim Krasnoselsky explained.
