CHISINAU, May 2. /TASS/. Russian peacekeepers will remain in Transnistria if Moldova withdraws from the agreement on the peaceful settlement of the conflict in the unrecognized republic, top Transnistrian diplomat Vitaly Ignatiev told Izvestia in an interview on Tuesday.

"For the Transnistrian side, there can only be one response - to continue to ensure peace and security on the banks of the Dniester River within the framework of the structures that already exist," Ignatiev said, "Even if Moldova tries to withdraw [from the agreement], we do not think that this would be the reason to curtail the peacekeeping operation. It has keep going anyway, because a significant number of peaceful people live there - half a million of the population of Transnistria, including almost 250,000 citizens of the Russian Federation. All these people need to be protected."

Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the conflict zone on the basis of an agreement with Moldova entitled "On the principles of a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova" of July 21, 1992. They stopped the fighting between the Moldovan police and the Transnistrian militia, and now maintain peace in the region together with the contingents of Moldova and Transnistria.

Apart from that, a Russian group of forces of around 1,000 soldiers and officers is deployed to the region to ensure the security of depots holding more than 20,000 tons of munitions that were put in storage there after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from European countries. A weapons and munitions withdrawal and disposal campaign started in 2001, but in 2004 the Transnistrian authorities cut it short following a deterioration in relations with Moldova. These troops are also supporting the peacekeepers who have found themselves literally under blockade after Ukraine blocked logistics routes through its territory.

Chisinau insists both on withdrawing the Russian operational group and on replacing the peacekeepers with a civilian mission under an international mandate. However, Tiraspol reiterates that in 1992, such a mission could not have prevented the armed conflict which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people and tens of thousands wounded or displaced.