 | INT'L OBSERVERS oversaw the last election, reporting free and fair conditions and an absence of any vote fraud. They say democratic changes have taken place. [more] |  | | |  | AFTER MOLDOVA'S ATTACK on Transdniestria in 1992, the local population strengthened its struggle for independence. A look back at the roots of the conflict helps provide a glimpse of what the future could bring. [more] |
| ||||||
Russia has complied with Istanbul agreements, its NATO official says
Any attempt to link the CFE treaty to the issue of Russian peacekeepers in Transdniestria is artificial and far-fetched. So says Russia's Permanent Representative to NATO. He also announced that Russia has fully met its Istanbul commitments.
Russian peacekeepers participates in a peacekeeping mission in Transdniestria along with troops of other neighboring countriesBRUSSELS (Tiraspol Times) - The linkage between the Istanbul commitments and the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty is artificial and far-fetched. That is the conclusion of Russia, whose spokesman on the issue says that he is "enraged" over attempts to imply otherwise. He now wants NATO to look him in the eye and give him a serious answer.
Konstantin Totsky, Russia's Permanent Representative to NATO, says that NATO must recognize Russia's compliance with Istanbul accords.
On Thursday, the official told news agency Interfax that Russia has fully met its Istanbul commitments.
" - Russia has fully met its Istanbul commitments. Whenever I ask NATO a direct question as to which commitments Russia still needs to fulfill, they do not even try to give an answer. We should sit down, look into each other's eyes, and analyze the situation. Everyone will see that Russia has fulfilled or even outdone its commitments concerning Georgia," he said.
Totsky wants his partners to look him in the eyes.
An appraisal mission should visit Georgia and see that "the [military base] in Gudauta has been really closed," Totsky said. A similar mission has visited Moldova, he said.
Meanwhile, claims are being made concerning Moldova "that have nothing to do with the Istanbul accords or the CFE treaty," he said. Russia is part of a multilateral peacekeeping force in the buffer zone between Moldova and Transdniestria (officially: Pridnestrovie, as per its constitution) which was agreed to by Moldova itself when it signed the 1992 ceasefire following a failed war.
Also known as Transnistria or Transdniester, the unrecognized country had originally declared independence in 1990. Its independence was not recognized by Moldova, which in 1992 sent troops to the area in an attempt to enforce its territorial claim.
- Multilateral force established with Moldova's consent
Both Moldova and Transdniestria participate in the peacekeeping effort with more soldiers than Russia: Moldova currently supplies 403 men to the force, Transdniestria 411 men, but Russia has capped its participation at a maximum of 385 men at any given time. A forth country, Ukraine, also participates with a smaller number of troops while the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is part of the Joint Control Commission as military observers.
In 2006 Moldova demanded that the peacekeeping format be changed by replacing the Russians with EU- or American troops. Other parties to the original arrangement are not in agreement and according to procedural rules of the Joint Control Commission, a decision can not be made unless it is accepted by consensus.
In addition to the active peacekeepers, other Russians function as support staff as well as guarding an outdated and partially dismantled World War II arms depot in the north of Transdniestria.
" - They demand that we change the peacekeeping mission format and replace our peacekeepers, who have nothing to do with the armed forces but are erroneously attributed to the 14th Army. The demands are being made by serious people, who somehow do not feel ashamed."
In the opinion of Totsky, the adapted CFE treaty "will never be ratified, because it is inconvenient for somebody."
" - I have the impression that the current state of affairs seats well with certain member countries of the alliance: Russia's hands are tied up, while NATO practically feels free. That is why Russia has raised the question. The linkage between the Istanbul commitments and CFE is artificial and far-fetched, and that is what enrages me for the most part," Totsky said.
No NATO member has yet ratified the treaty. Until now, only four countries have both signed and ratified it: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine. While they are bound to adhere by the treaty, others - in the West - are not. (With information from Interfax)
See also:
» Moldova calls buffer zone situation "uncontrolled and unmanageable," disrupts peacekeeping operation
» Moldova wants int'l peacekeepers to leave
» UN Security Council member: "All sides must agree to peacekeeping changes"
| more about peacekeeping | |||||
| |||||
Moldova has passed a national security concept in which Transdniestria is defined as Moldova's main threat. The new law comes a month after Transdniestria proposed a treaty of friendship and co-operation, which Moldova ignored. Moldova already failed in an earlier 1992 attempt to invade and conquer the 'de facto' independent state. . . 
