peacekeeping

Ukraine will be part of NATO, says the military alliance's top official while at the same time also giving a "discreet nod" to Moldova. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced that immediate talks will be launched to eliminate problems that could hinder the implementation of the plan. Polls show that a majority of Ukrainians want their country to stay neutral and not join NATO.

The President of Romania supports increased cooperation between NATO and Moldova. Traian Basescu made his statement Wednesday at a NATO summit that his Moldovan counterpart Vladimir Voronin is taking part in. US President George W Bush is also urging further NATO expansion to the east.

Anatoly Zverev says that his job is to save lives. The head of Russia's third of the Moldova-Transdniestria peacekeeping force sees no point in changing the mission before a politically negotiated solution to the conflict has been found. He asks: "Why should you break something that works well?"

Keeping the peace in Trans-Dniester (Pridnestrovie) has nothing to do with the CFE Treaty, says Russia. According to its foreign minister, the country has already complied in full with its commitments under the treaty, even though Moldova and no Western country ever ratified it. Moldova reacted bitterly to the Russian statements and repeated its earlier demands for immediate peacekeeping withdrawal.

As long as Moldova maintains its conflict with Transdniestria, it will not be possible for Russia to pull out of the region. So says Russia's deputy defense minister Vladimir Isakov. But after a deal is reached between the two sides, remaining military equipment and ammunition can be removed in just six months.

Russia's military chief of staff Yuri Baluyevsky says that "Russia has long ago carried out all of its CFE obligations". This includes the alleged "Istanbul commitments" which Moldova has falsely portrayed as a requirement to leave Transdniestria without any Russian peacekeeping participation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also confirmed that his country has already complied with the treaty in full.

A new proposal from Moldovan observers envisions a NATO occupation of Transdniestria until its final status is reached. They want the United States to push a plan for putting Transdniestria under UN trusteeship, with NATO troops guaranteeing the peace. Transdniestria (officially: Pridnestrovie) seeks formalization and international recognition of its current status as a "de facto" independent country.

While claiming to want peace, Moldova has secretly developed an expansion plan for its military. The plan, which will be carried out in November and December 2007, will bring the number of recruits to 3,035. In June, an additional 3,000 men were added and Transdniestria now openly fears that Moldova is preparing to launch new military attacks.

Transdniester (officially Pridnestrovie) is not willing to join its military with Moldova's unless Moldova first signs a peace deal. On Wednesday, Moldovan strongman Vladimir Voronin suggested the creation of a single army under Moldovan command. To convince Pridnestrovie to go along, he promised not to start a new "nightmare" of the kind that his country unleashed against Pridnestrovie in 1992.

Openly aligning itself with NATO, Moldova has welcomed a permanent center for the military alliance in Chisinau. The move marks a decisive break with Moldova's constitutionally-mandated neutrality. Transdniester is convinced that Moldova is preparing for a second war against the territory.