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Transnistria’s leader calls for Russian peacekeepers’ continued presence in the region

Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the conflict zone on July 29, 1992

CHISINAU, June 25. /TASS/. Leader of the unrecognized Transnistrian Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, has spoken out in favor of preserving the existing framework of the peacekeeping operation in the region conducted under Russia’s umbrella. According to the Transnistrian leader’s press service, the issue was discussed at his meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak who paid a two-day visit to Moldova.

"The operation, which has proven its effectiveness over almost three decades, should be continued in its current form. The combination of the work of Russian, Transnistrian and Moldovan peacekeeping forces is a unique and effective mechanism," the press service said.

Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the conflict zone on July 29, 1992, under an agreement on the principles of a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in the Transnistrian region of Moldova that the presidents of Russia and Moldova signed in the presence of Transnistria’s leader on July 21, 1992. Currently, Russian peacekeepers are ensuring peace in the security zone disengaging the sides, alongside peacekeepers from Moldova and Transnistria and a group of military observers from Ukraine.

Transnistria, a largely Russian-speaking region, broke away from Moldova following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Its relations with Moldova’s central government in Chisinau have been highly mixed and extremely tense at times ever since then. In 1992 and 1993, tensions erupted into a bloody armed conflict that claimed the lives of hundreds of people on both sides.