RF peacekeepers remain in Transdniestria for 19 years

MOSCOW (Itar-Tass) - Russia's military contingent in
Transdniestria celebrates on Sunday the 19th anniversary of entry into the
region of Russian peacekeepers. The day is known officially as day of
joint peacekeeping forces of Moldova's Transdniestrian Region, official
representative of Russia's Army Sergei Vlasov said.
"Entering of the Russian peacekeepers in Transdniestria in 1992 put an
end to the armed conflict in Moldova. Disconnection units stopped the
fighting on both banks of Dniester by taking control of the 225-kilometer
zone between the warring parties having formed a peacekeeping mechanism.
On the night of July 31 August 1, women, children and the elderly greeted
Russian peacekeepers who were delivered by an aircraft to the Tiraspol
airfield and as they crossed the Dniester on military vehicles. They threw
flowers on the armor vehicles, brought bread and salt, wiped tears of
happiness. Joint peacekeepers have been maintaining peace there for 19
years, "- Vlasov said.
"The daily activities of peacekeepers soon turned the area into a zone
of confrontation between peace and security. Peacekeepers accumulated
experience that enables them to meet the challenges of maintaining peace
and order in the security zone, displaying stamina, courage, diplomacy,
human tact and faithfulness to duty. According to the Joint Control
Commission, the peacekeepers carry out effectively their responsibilities
for maintaining peace and stability in the area of shared
responsibility,"- he said.
According to the chief of the Russian military contingent in the
Transdniestrian Region of Moldova, Colonel Anatoly Zverev, from the time
the peacekeepers came there, they have detained more than 116 thousand
people, seized 50 machines, 13 rifles, 62 pistols, dozens of hand grenades
and rocket-propelled grenades, 150 thousand rounds of ammunition, cleared
and eliminated 13,500 explosive devices.
As leader of the unrecognized Transdniestria, Igor Smirnov stated on
July 25 in Tiraspol, the Russian military presence in Transdniestria is
part of the newly emerging system of collective European security.
"Most importantly, during these years there are no blood flows here.
Peace on the banks of the Dniester is supported by Russia's authority. The
reason for this is that the people of Transdniestria and Moldova have
always respected soldiers of great Russia, "- Smirnov said. He expressed
the view that "Russian soldiers since the times of Peter the Great and
Alexander Suvorov have been the herald of freedom, the guarantor of peace
and stability and will never be perceived by the region's population as
invaders or occupiers."
On July 21, 1992, Presidents of Russia and Moldova signed in Moscow an
agreement "On the principles of peaceful resolution of armed conflict in
the Transdniestria Region of Moldova," which marks the beginning of the
peacekeeping operation in the region. Peace and stability are supported by
joint peacekeeping forces, consisting of Russia's troops /335 servicemen/,
Moldova's /453 servicemen/, Transdnistria's /490 servicemen/ and a group
of military observers from Ukraine, consisting of 10 officers. The
uniqueness of the operation is proved by the fact that since the signing
of the agreement there had not been any outbreaks of violence, not a
single person died. This enabled Chisinau and Tiraspol to negotiate a
peace settlement. Transdniestrian authorities insist on increasing the
number of Russian peacekeepers while Moldovan leaders suggest replacing them with civilian observers.