Chisinau views Russian peacekeepers' exercise in Transdniestria as provocation

CHISINAU. April 23 (Interfax) - The Moldovan government's Reintegration Bureau has regarded an exercise involving Russian peacekeepers in Transdniestria as "provocative actions," a statement published on the bureau's website on Tuesday said.

"Russian peacekeepers, who are included in the Joint Peacekeeping Forces, held an exercise on April 23, drilling measures to 'repel attacks on the peacekeeping forces' positions,'" the statement said. The exercise took place at peacekeepers' posts located near the populated localities of Dubasari, Cocieri, Bender, Firladeni, and Hadjimus.

"The incident will be discussed at a meeting of the Joint Control Commission," the bureau said. The bureau called on peacekeepers in the security zone on the Dniester river to "give up provocative actions."

"The Moldovan delegation to the Joint Control Commission (JCC) says that holding exercises without the required coordination causes new tensions in the Security Zone, frightening the population. It also affirms that the founding acts of the peacekeeping mission on the Dniester river are being seriously and systematically breached. The Moldovan delegation to the JCC calls on the participants of the peacekeeping operation to rule out such provocative actions that contravene the principles of peacekeeping and Moldovan legislation," the statement said.

In December 2023, Russian peacekeepers in the region also held an exercise at the posts of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces using combat weapons and hardware. The Moldovan delegation to the JCC then demanded an investigation.

The JCC is a coordinating body in the Security Zone. The Joint Military Command is operating as part of the JCC, with trilateral peacekeeping forces from Moldova, Russia and Transdniestria subordinated to it. The commission was established in accordance with the Moldovan-Russian agreement on the principles of cessation of the armed conflict in Transdniestria, signed by the two countries' presidents on July 21, 1992. In accordance with this document, peacekeepers were brought into the region. Currently, they number 350-400 troops each from Moldova, Russia and Transdniestria. The JCC, accordingly, has three co-chairs. The JCC meets weekly and all decisions are taken by consensus.