CHISINAU, July 29. /TASS/. Moldova will have to discuss with Russia the issue of the withdrawal of the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF) from Transnistria, Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Valeriu Chiveri, who leads the republic’s delegation at the Transnistrian settlement talks, told journalists.
"We must take into account that the OGRF remains on Moldovan territory. That is, whether we like it or not, at a certain stage - with the support of our partners - this issue will have to be addressed with the Kremlin. This is a bilateral Russian-Moldovan issue. I wouldn't like to go into details, but since Russian troops are still on Moldovan territory, I assume the time will come when this issue will have to be discussed," Chiveri said. Earlier, Moldovan President Maia Sandu stated that the issue of the OGRF withdrawal should be resolved during negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the combat zone on July 29, 1992, in accordance with the Agreement on the Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the Dniester Region of the Republic of Moldova, signed by the presidents of the Russian Federation and Moldova. They maintain peace in the Security Zone along the Dniester River, a demilitarized buffer area established by the ceasefire agreement to separate the forces of Moldova and the breakaway region of Transnistria, together with the "blue helmets" of Moldova and Transnistria. The OGRF, numbering approximately 1,000 soldiers and officers, is also stationed in the region. Its mission includes both supporting the peacekeeping operation and guarding warehouses with over 20,000 tons of munitions, which were moved there after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from European countries.
The Moldovan leadership insists on the OGRF withdrawal and proposes replacing the peacekeepers with a civilian mission under an international mandate. However, Tiraspol opposes the withdrawal of Russian troops, as the civilian mission failed to prevent an armed conflict in 1992, in which more than a thousand people were killed, tens of thousands were injured and became refugees.