Washington calls 5,500 U.S. troops "hardly any" but 1,200 Russians in PMR must go

Daniel Fried is irked over 1,200 Russian troops in Transdniestria while claiming 5,500 U.S. troops nearby are "hardly any"

VIENNA (Tiraspol Times) - Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Euro-Asian affairs, denied Tuesday that the U.S. planned a military build-up in Bulgaria and Romania, saying "There are hardly any U.S. troops there," leading some in the audience to rush to Google for a fact-check of the U.S. official's definition of the words "hardly any."

According to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, the number of U.S. troops scheduled for the seven new and permanent bases in Romania and Bulgaria is estimated at 5,000. This, however, is a low number and the real figure may go as high as twice that when the troop build-up is completed and during surges.

The agreements with Bulgaria and Romania were signed in 2006 and on 2 May 2007, Romania agreed to let the United States keep up to 3,000 troops permanently in the formerly communist country. Previously, Bulgaria had already agreed to let the United States open three military bases for permanent use by 2,500 U.S. troops, with additional numbers for "transient" or non-permanent surges. A senior U.S. official quoted by The Washington Times confirmed that in Bulgaria alone, their number could reach 5,000 at times - or twice the published number in the official agreement.

U.S. F-16 fighters at the tarmac of the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania, one of seven new permanent American bases located close to Transdniestria's borders (Photo: Eydie Sakura, U.S. Air Force)

While on one hand calling this number "hardly any", at the same time, U.S. State Department official Daniel Fried persisted in complaining over the remaining Russian troops of under 1,200 which are still left in Transdniestria, despite the fact that Russia has over the years been drastically reducing their number from the original amount of more than 10,000 troops.

" - There are Russian forces still in Transnistria, not many, but they are still there," said Daniel Fried.

Unwilling to discuss the U.S. military escalation in Russia's near-abroad, Fried instead insisted: "Let's solve Transnistria, let us ratify, and then we can talk about the flanks."

"Hardly any" Russian troops remaining in Transdniestria

No Russian troops are present in Moldova proper, and only 1,200 are stationed in Transdniestria. Although Moldova considers Transdniestria to be part of Moldova, the 17 year old territorial claim has never been formally settled in an international court of law.

The government in Tiraspol argues that, according to the principle of democratic self-determination, Transdniestria's 1990 declaration of independence has as much legal effect as the two 1991 declarations of independence by neighboring Ukraine and Moldova.

Until status settlement has been worked out between the sides, Russia has announced that it is premature to dismantle the peacekeeping effort.

In 1992, the Russian forces stopped clashes between Moldovan forces and separatists in the Russian-speaking region. The war, which left over 1,000 people dead, was started when Moldova sent troops across the Dniester river to subdue local government and enforce central rule from Chisinau.

Under the terms of a 1992 ceasefire, Moldova agreed to the Russian peacekeeping presence as part of a multinational force which also includes troops from the two conflicting sides. This was later confirmed in subsequent agreements in 1995 and 1997. The peacekeeping includes troops and observers from five sides: Russia, Moldova, Transdniestria, Ukraine and OSCE, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, an international organization representing 56 countries.

Accusations of favoritism

But Chisinau later accused Moscow of backing the separatists and has signaled it would favor replacing the Russians with an international force. A week before the current Vienna talks started, U.S. arms official Paula DeSutter said Washington was discussing with NATO allies offering this option to Moscow.

Russian officials have said Moscow would be unlikely to support NATO participation in Transdniestria peacekeeping, news agency Reuters reported.

Lavrov rejected any links between the future of the Russian forces in Georgia and Transdniestria and the CFE treaty. "Such linkage has no legal force," he said, news agencies reported.

Russia, unhappy about NATO's expansion eastwards, says U.S. plans to open bases for several thousand soldiers in Romania and Bulgaria this year are in breach of the CFE.

NATO officials claim that the U.S. bases are not intended as permanent and thus cannot be seen as a breach. This, however, is incorrect as the agreements signed with both Romania and Bulgaria in 2006 specifically allow for permanent bases under direct American control.

A senior U.S. official, quoted by The Washington Times on 24 April 2006, also confirmed that the facilities were permanent although he downplayed the impact that they would have on curing local unemployment in the areas.

" - We don't plan on having that many permanent workers," the senior U.S. official told The Washington Times. There will be 2,500 U.S. troops stationed on the three bases in southern Bulgaria at any given time, although their number could reach 5,000 during rotation periods, the official said.

Some now see Washington's latest moves as provocative and possibly the start of a new Cold War.

" - The US has become too used to Moscow as a compliant vassal. Washington will now have to resume treating the Russians as a great power with legitimate international interests. The first step is reversing the Bush Administration’s contemptuous and dangerously reckless repudiation of major arms control treaties with Moscow," says Eric Margolis, contributing foreign editor for Sun National Media Canada. "The White House’s provocative plan to build anti-missile systems and open military bases in Eastern Europe should be cancelled. Pushing NATO all the way east to Russia’s borders has been another dangerous provocation."

American troops permanently stationed near Transdniestria

" - There are, in fact, no significant deployments at all nor do we plan any significant deployments," said Daniel Fried, adding that "And these forces will not be massive in any event."

While use of words such as "not massive" and "hardly any" can be open for interpretation, there is no discussion of what constitutes a permanent base: According to the agreements signed with Bulgaria and Romania, all seven American bases are permanent bases.

The many thousands of U.S. soldiers in permanent bases in Bulgaria and Romania are supposed to provide stability and permanent American control over this part of Eastern Europe.

The US European command (EUCOM) will create a new eastern operation group of troops, Joint Task Force-East which will involve from 2000 to 3000 US soldiers, supreme commander of NATO operations in Europe and head of US European command (EUCOM) John Craddock told the U.S. Congress in March of this year. The aim of the eastern group is to keep US military presence in the Black Sea and Caucasus regions in order to have the ability of permanent military pressure in these strategic areas.

Both Romania and Bulgaria are located near the borders of Transdniestria. Romania, which until World War II included Moldova, used to extend all the way to the Dniester River -- today's current border between Transdniestria and Moldova. Ukraine is located to the East.

In Romania, the United States will permanently occupy four military bases and training camps at Mihail Kogalniceanu, Babadag, Cincu and Smardan.

In Bulgaria, the United States has permanent use of the Bezmer and Graf Ignatievo air bases and the Novo Selo army training range and storage facility.

The United States does not pay any rent for its use of these bases. This contrasts with how Russia is treated in the few places where it has facilities outside its national borders. In Azerbaijan, for instance, Russia rents the Gabala radar station for some US$7 million a year.

U.S. jurisdiction over troops and bases

Unwilling to accede to sovereign rule of the host countries, the United States retains jurisdiction over any crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in Romania and Bulgaria, with the Romanians and Bulgarians having waived the right to primary jurisdiction within their own countries.

This is the first time Bulgaria has authorized the stationing of foreign forces on its soil in all of its 1,325-year history, Bulgarian officials were reported by The Washington Times as saying.

Even during the Cold War, when the country was an ally of the now-extinct Soviet Union, no Soviet troops were allowed in the country and no Soviet bases were maintained within Bulgaria for reasons of sovereignty.

Romania, on the other hand, has a past history of willingly allowing foreign troops to use the country: In World War II, the country was allied with Nazi Germany and hosted German troops. They participated in creating a Romanian version of the Holocaust and exterminating an estimated 300,000 Romanian Jews, the majority of which were sent to the killing fields known as Transnistria, outside Romania's natural borders. (With information from The Washington Times, Reuters)

See also:
» No "Made in Washington" formula for Transdniestria says U.S. diplomat
» NATO wargames on Pridnestrovie's border criticized as "political blunder"