MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will withdraw its weapon stockpiles from Moldova’s breakaway Transdnestr region only after Chisinau and Tiraspol settle their long-running dispute over the political status of the self-proclaimed republic, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.
“The Russian side is interested in a quick settlement [of the conflict] because it would resolve the issue of the withdrawal of [Russian] weapons that are still stored there in large quantities,” Lavrov said after talks with Moldovan Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman in Moscow.
“In the context of the settlement, all obstacles to the withdrawal will be eliminated, and it would open the way for discussions on a new format of international presence in Transdnestr,” the Russian minister said.
Lavrov stressed that Chisinau and Tiraspol should give up extreme positions on Transdnestr’s status in order to start reconciliation talks.
“The sides assume the key responsibility for this,” he added.
Russia maintains a motorized infantry battalion in the region as part of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces (CPF), in addition to a number of troops guarding several Soviet-era ammunition depots.
The Russian-speaking province of Transdnestr has maintained de facto independence from Moldova since a brief war in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Transdnestr seeks full independence, while Moldova says it is only prepared to allow autonomy.
The talks on the future of Transdnestr in the "five-plus-two" format, involving Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, Moldova, Transdnestr, with the United States and the EU as observers, have been frozen since February 2006.
A joint peacekeeping force of Russian, Moldovan and Transdnestr contingents has been deployed in the region.
