Tiraspol, July 25. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Ideas aimed at changing the peacekeeping mechanism only clog the information field up and are intended to hide the unwillingness to conduct a responsible dialogue, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vitaly Ignatiev noted in an interview with RIA Novosti, emphasizing that such ideas are categorically unacceptable for Transnistria.
"Pridnestrovie categorically reject changes to the existing peacekeeping mechanism. Any such ideas are aimed at clogging the information field up with absurd initiatives and camouflaging their own unwillingness to conduct a responsible dialogue," Ignatiev said.
The head of the PMR MFA also emphasized that the peacekeeping operation could not in any way be an obstacle to the settlement process, since, on the contrary, it creates conditions for its implementation in a peaceful and stable manner.
"Attempts to make the withdrawal of peacekeepers and some kind of "demilitarization" of Pridnestrovie a precondition for resolving the conflict are clearly a provocative approach. Only those who really see the conflict being resolved through the imposition of ultimatums and violent scenarios can demand this. Indeed, Russian peacekeepers and our military can interfere with them,” Ignatiev noted.
Today, peace on the Dniester is maintained by the Joint Peacekeeping Forces, which include 402 Russian, 492 Pridnestrovian and 355 Moldovan servicemen. The peacekeepers serve at 15 stationary posts and checkpoints, which are located in key areas of the Security Zone. The Joint Control Commission (JCC) was created in accordance with the Moldovan-Russian Agreement on the Principles of Peaceful Settlement of the Pridnestrovian Conflict of July 21, 1992. It includes delegations from Moldova, Pridnestrovie and Russia, as well as representatives of the OSCE mission and Ukraine. The JCC monitors the situation in the Security Zone on the Dniester and coordinates the activities of the joint peacekeeping forces in the region.
