CHISINAU, July 29. /TASS/. The leader of the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, described the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region as a guarantee of continued peace talks.

"The joint peacekeeping mission of Russia, Transnistria and Moldova has been running for 32 years now, helping maintain peace and tranquility on the banks of the Dniester. We, Transnistrians, favor the continued peacekeeping operation as it guarantees peace and pushes the negotiating process forward," Krasnoselsky told TASS in an interview.

Moldova has proposed replacing the peacekeepers with a civilian mission holding an international mandate. However, Tiraspol argues that a similar mission failed to prevent a military conflict in 1992 when more than a thousand people were killed, with tens of thousands of others being wounded.

Russian peacekeepers were deployed in the conflict zone after the agreement "On the Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the Dniester Region of the Republic of Moldova" was signed by the Russian and Moldovan presidents on July 21, 1992. Since then, alongside the Transnistrian and Moldovan "blue helmets," they have maintained peace by enabling Chisinau and Tiraspol to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the conflict.