Russia Blames Moldova for Stalling Withdrawal of Troops from Transnistria

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. It is Moldova, which prevents the withdrawal of the Operational Group of Russian troops from Transnistria and shifts responsibility, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"The Moldovan authorities themselves are preventing the withdrawal of the Russian military presence from Transnistria and are trying to shift the blame from their sick head to the healthy one," the diplomat said at a briefing.

She said that among the tasks of the Russian group in Transnistria are peacekeeping and the protection of ammunition depots located there since the Soviet times.

"To create conditions for discussing the withdrawal of the Operational Group of Russian Troops and the Russian contingent of the joint peacekeeping forces, it is necessary first of all to settle the Transnistrian conflict," she said.

Zakharova stated that this is exactly how it is formulated in the documents dated 1992 and 1997.

"So far, the process is stalling through the fault of the Moldovan side," Zakharova said.

Commenting on the words of Moldovan President Maia Sandu that the settlement negotiations of the conflict in Ukraine should also affect the status of the Operational Group of Russian Troops in Transnistria, the Russian diplomat noted that "this is some kind of absurdity. What does Maia Sandu have to do with this and even talk about negotiations around the Ukrainian conflict? Maybe she wants her fate to be discussed during these negotiations too?" Zakharova asked. She suggested that Sandu "was just sent the manuals, she voices them, sings from someone else's voice."

"Those who are seriously involved in the issues of peacemaking and peace-building, who are really experts in this field, understand that attempts to link the processes of resolving conflicts of different nature will lead to the fact that none of them will be resolved," Zakharova said.