CHISINAU, August 29. /TASS/. Russian peacekeepers must continue maintaining stability on the shores of the Dniester River until the Transnistrian issue is completely resolved, Vadim Krasnoselsky, the president of the unrecognized republic, said at a press conference commenting on Moldova’s calls to replace the military with a civilian mission.

"First, the status [of Transnistria] must be determined and only then the issue of the peacekeeping and military presence will be considered, and not vice versa," Krasnoselsky said.

He reiterated that such a mission of civilian observers could not prevent Moldova’s military aggression on June 19, 1992. "They all scattered across the town of Bendery like mice. It was rather tough to gather them together later. Thank God, all of them were alive and well and sent, so to say, to their home countries. That was a civilian mission. They didn’t even take the time to write some sort of report about the onset of combat. They stepped down on their own. They got scared. That’s it," the Transnistrian president noted.

Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in the conflict zone since July 29, 1992, pursuant to the Agreement on the Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the Dniester Region of the Republic of Moldova, signed on July 21, 1992, by the presidents of Russia and Moldova, with the Transnistrian leader present. Today, they oversee peacekeeping efforts in the buffer zone along the Dniester River, working alongside Moldovan Blue Helmets, Transnistrian forces, and a group of Ukrainian military observers. The Operational Group of Russian Forces in Transnistria (OGRF) numbering approximately 1,000 Russian soldiers and officers remains in the region, tasked with supporting peacekeeping operations and guarding stockpiles of over 20,000 tons of ammunition left behind after the Soviet troop withdrawal from Eastern Europe.