Image by ITU Pictures from Geneva, Switzerland. Crop: Mihai P.
In further developments from Munich, Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip declared Moldova’s wish at the Munich Security Conference for Russian troops to be removed from the breakaway territory of Transdniester, one of the first ‘frozen conflicts’ after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Transdniester Rules Out Removing Russian ‘Peacekeepers’
We want to have balanced, friendly relations with Moscow, when our trade cooperation is not be politicized, and the dialogue is based on mutual respect,” said Filip reported the Moldovan press service.
Filip wished for “Russia’s sincere intention to help in the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict and withdraw its armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the Republic of Moldova.”
OSCE Hails ‘Substantial Progress’ In Transdniester Settlement Talks
The head of the Moldovan government also expressed concern about the “situation of uncertainty hanging over Eastern Europe,” reported Russian state news agency TASS.
Pro-Russian and Moldovan nationalists fought a war in the early 1990s over the narrow strip of land adjacent to Ukraine. Today a contingent of several thousand Russian troops keeps the peace and also guards a massive Soviet ammunition depot on the territory. Moldova sees such a large force as interfering in its internal, domestic affairs.
