Foreign Ministry rejects U.S. troops in Transdniestria

PMR's Minister of Foreign Affairs Valeri Litskai doesn't see the need to "fix" something which is clearly not broken.

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - The government of Transdniestria is opposed to letting American troops into the unrecognized country, according to PMR Minister of Foreign Affairs Valeri Litskai, who commented on such an idea which was floated earlier in the week by an American official.

On Tuesday U.S. arms official Paula DeSutter said Washington was discussing with NATO allies the possibility of having the United States and other NATO-allies send troops to Transdniestria as part of an alternative peacekeeping force.

" - The joint peacemaking forces of Russia, Moldova and Pridnestrovie were put in charge of the Dniester river buffer zone under the 1992 ceasefire agreement. This is a successful peacekeeping operation: Since the war ended, we haven't had the conflict flare up again not even once, and not a single person has been killed," said Litskai. "Therefore it is senseless to change the format, which speaks for itself."

PMR Foreign Minister Valeri Litskai points out that this will only bring instability to a currently very stable situation.

Russia opposed, while NATO and EU lukewarm

Russia also sees no reason to send American troops into the frozen conflict. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Russian officials have said Moscow would be unlikely to support NATO participation in Transdniestria peacekeeping.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected any links between the future of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Transdniestria and the CFE treaty. "Such linkage has no legal force," he said, as reported by news agencies.

Meanwhile, the idea got only a lukewarm reception from America's allies. NATO and EU officials gave a cautious response to DeSutter's suggestion for an expansion of the international force to include U.S. and NATO troops, saying Russia had previously resisted such ideas.

Five sides already participate in the current international peacekeeping mission in the area. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, which represents 56 member states, is part of the multilateral peacekeeping force with full observer status. Ukraine also has observer status as well as supplying troops to the actual peacekeeping force, while three countries - Moldova, Russia, and unrecognized Transdniestria - all supply equal numbers of troops.

Also known as Transnistria and Transdniester, the mostly Slav-populated area declared independence in 1990 and has functioned as a sovereign state ever since. Due to an unresolved territorial dispute with Moldova, its independence has not yet been internationally recognized.

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

See also:
» Opposition MP: "Change in the peacekeeping format can bring new war"
» PMR Pres: "Plans to get rid of existing peacekeepers is provocation"
» OSCE praises work of peacekeepers despite its alleged "pro-Moldova" bias
» "Peacekeepers must leave", says Moldova's foreign minister