Dniester peacekeeper: "Don't fix something that's not broken"

The head of Russia's third of the peacekeeping contingent, Anatoly Zverev, underscores that peace is currently being kept 100%

BENDER (Tiraspol Times) - "You don't fix something that is not broken." That is the opinion of Colonel Anatoly Zverev, head of the Russian third of the multinational peacekeeping contingent in Transdniestria (officially: Pridnestrovie, located between Moldova and Ukraine).

Moldova's Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Andrei Stratan, said earlier that his country wants to replace the current peacekeeping mission with a civilian mission under the auspices of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and the United States. In the headquarters of the joint peacekeeping forces in Transdniestria, these statements caused bewilderment.

" - I don't see any relevance in these statements," said Anatoly Zverev. "Why should we dismantle something that works well?"

On a statistical basis alone, the Transdniestria peacekeeping mission is the most successful in the world: Not a single serious incident has taken place between the conflicting parties over the last fifteen years in the Security Zone established on the Dniester. There has also been no loss of human life among the civilian population - nor among any of the troops participating in the operation.

Agreement: Peacekeepers stay unchanged until conflict is settled

Pursuant to the agreement which Moldova's President signed on 21 July 1992, the peacekeeping mission will stay in force until a peaceful, political solution to the conflict has been found. Without such a mutually-agreed solution, the agreement specifies clearly that the peacekeepers will stay. The agreement has no provisions for changes in the peacekeeping structure, or for replacing one group of peacekeepers from one country with another group from somewhere else, against the wishes of one of the parties to the conflict.

" - Changing the format of the operation would entail breaking the 1992 agreement," says Zverev," and this would mean that Moldova and Transdniestria technically return to a state of war."

The head of the Russian peacekeeping contingent also said that those who want to remove the current peacekeepers are not specifying how they think peace can be guaranteed in the region afterwards. Zverev also won't allow anyone to confuse the work of the peacekeepers with the slow progress in the settlement talks, which are currently frozen.

" - The task of the peacekeepers was to stop the armed conflict, pacify the warring parties to make and to ensure peace and tranquility on both sides of Dniester river. We have done so. This provides an opportunity for a political settlement," he said, referring to a solution over the disputed territory's future which is reached through negotiations rather than through military pressure and warfare.

" - The peacekeepers perform their task, which in turn enables the politicians to have every opportunity to solve the political issues at the negotiating table. Don't blame the peacekeepers if the politicians do their job poorly," said Anatoly Zverev.

Guarantors of peace and stability

In Anatoly Zverev's opinion, it will not be possible to change the current peacekeeping mission and transform it to a civilian mission under OSCE mandate. Nor will it be possible to set up an American-led NATO mission, as a U.S. State Department official proposed in 2007. Neither of these two alternatives are envisioned in the cease-fire agreement which was signed by Moldova in 1992, entitled "On the basis of peaceful settlement of the conflict in Transdniestria". And any change in the current peacekeeping format is in violation of cease-fire terms, causing a rupture in the cease-fire. This, naturally, increases the risk of a resumption of war.

The more than 500,000 residents of Transdniestria are overwhelmingly in favor of Russia's continued participation in the peacekeeping force, viewing it as a guarantee against a resumption of Moldova's violent 1992 attacks on civilians.
The question of allowing Russian troops in Transdniestria was put to a referendum among the region's inhabitants in March 1995. More than 90% of voters approved the Russian presence.

According to the 1992 agreement, Russia has the right to station 2,500 men and women for peacekeeping duties. However, in 1998 Russia unilaterally decided to reduce its troop strength from 2,500 to just under 500 people. In addition to the peacekeepers, a small number of soldiers also guard a Russian-owned World War II era ammunition depot in Kolbasna, in northern Transdniestria. The total number of Russian peacekeepers, guards and reserves currently reach 1,200.

See also:
» PMR Pres: "Plans to get rid of existing peacekeepers is provocation"
» Opposition MP: "Change in the peacekeeping format can bring new war"
» Transdniester marks 15 years since Moldova signed cease-fire
» OSCE praises work of peacekeepers despite its alleged "pro-Moldova" bias

Opinion and commentary:
» How many American kids will die for Transdniestria?