TIRASPOL, July 30 Russian peacekeepers conducted training at posts in the security zone in Transnistria, Oleg Belyakov, co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) from the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), said on Tuesday.
«The training of Russian peacekeepers took place throughout the security zone. This is a planned event that was agreed upon with both the Joint Military Command and the Joint Control Commission. The only thing to say is that these exercises were supposed to be joint, but the Moldovan side refused,» Belyakov said.
The co-chairman of the JCC from the PMR also added that the Russian side conducted training independently at all posts where peacekeepers serve in the security zone. According to him, elements of shooting were simulated during the training.
«This is a tactical training that was aimed at ensuring the security of the posts. Staff activities were fully worked out, including with the participation of personnel. The training contributed to the fact that in the event of any urgent need, it would be possible to quickly ensure security at the peacekeeping posts,» Belyakov noted.
Peace in the Transnistrian conflict zone is maintained by a joint peacekeeping force, which includes 402 Russian, 492 Transnistrian and 355 Moldovan servicemen. The peacekeepers serve at 15 stationary posts and checkpoints, which are located in key areas of the security zone. The Joint Control Commission was created in accordance with the Moldovan-Russian agreement on the principles of peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict of July 21, 1992. It includes delegations from Moldova, Transnistria and Russia, as well as representatives of the OSCE mission and Ukraine. The JCC monitors the situation in the security zone on the Dniester and coordinates the activities of the joint peacekeeping forces in the region.
Transnistria, 60% of whose inhabitants are Russians and Ukrainians, sought to secede from Moldova in the last years of the USSR. The reason for this was the fear that Moldova would join Romania on the wave of nationalist uprisings. In 1992, after Chisinau's unsuccessful attempt to resolve the problem by force, Transnistria became a de facto independent territory.