In response to the newly elected President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, who had previously said that he would seek the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Moldovan territory, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, said on November 30 local time that changing the status quo may lead to instability in Transnistria.
According to a report by the Russian Satellite News Agency on November 30, Peskov said, “Russia (in Moldova) plays a very important role, and changing the status quo based on the spirit and meaning of international law will undoubtedly lead to serious instability.” Peskov said he hoped to discuss the issue, but his attitude on whether to withdraw troops would not change significantly.
According to previous reports, the Moldovan Central Election Commission confirmed Maia Sandu to win the presidential election on November 20. After winning the election, Sandu said that in order to solve the dispute over the territory along the Transnistria River, Russian troops should be completely withdrawn from the region.
She said: “I oppose the federalization of Moldova and do not support the option proposed by Dodon (the current President of Moldova) and his party. I am sure that we will find a solution to the conflict, which should include the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldovan territory.
Transnistria is surrounded by Moldova and Ukraine, and its population is mainly Russian and Ukrainian. In the 1990s, the region unilaterally declared independence and established the “Germanyrian Republic of Moldavia”, which led to a military conflict with Moldova that lasted for several months in 1992.
In July 1992, the trilateral leaders of Moldova, Russia and Transnistria signed an agreement on principles for the peaceful settlement of the conflict, which stipulated that the region would be stationed by a joint force of the three parties and subject to the ceasefire supervision by a peace mediation mission composed of Ukraine and other countries. Moldova has effectively lost control of the area.
