Moscow will not cave in to Western pressure and abandon its peacekeeping mission in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdnestr, the Russian president’s point man for the region said on Tuesday.
“We see no grounds for reviewing our peacekeeping mission,” Dmitry Rogozin, who is also Russian deputy prime minister, said, adding that the Russian military presence guarantees regional security.
“The mission will continue,” he said.
Russia stations 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.
A joint peacekeeping force of Russian, Moldovan and Transdnestr contingents has been deployed in the area. Transdnestr seeks full independence, while Moldova says it is only prepared to allow autonomy.
