Moldovan Authorities Rule Out Dialogue with Russia — Kremlin

According to Dmitry Peskov, the current Moldovan authorities also obstruct the Transnistrian settlement

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Sergey Bobylev/POOL/TASS

© Sergey Bobylev/POOL/TASS

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. The current Moldovan authorities refuse to hold talks with Russia and also obstruct the Transnistrian settlement, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

His statement comes at a press briefing in response to a TASS correspondent’s question about the latest developments in the region and perspectives for the Transnistrian issue settlement.

"Regarding the [conflict] settlement, this is an extremely difficult issue," Peskov stated. "Having the current Moldovan leadership as our vis-a-vis makes it certainly very difficult and almost impossible to talk about this now."

"This refers to the Moldovan leadership, which effectively excludes dialogue with the Russian Federation," he added.

On September 28, Moldova held parliamentary elections. The turnout reached 52% of registered voters. According to preliminary results from the Central Election Commission, after 99.9% of the votes were counted, the ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) retained control of parliament, receiving 50.16%. The opposition has already announced its disagreement with the vote results and intends to appeal them due to numerous violations of voter rights.

Transnistria conflict

Russian peacekeepers were introduced into the armed conflict zone following the signing of an agreement with Moldova on July 21, 1992, for the peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. Currently, the Russian military works alongside the blue helmets of Moldova and Transnistria to maintain peace in the region.

The Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF), consisting of around 1,000 troops and officers, is stationed on the left bank of the Dniester River. Its primary task is to guard warehouses storing over 20,000 tons of ammunition that remained after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from European countries.

Additionally, the OGRF supports peacekeepers who have been effectively blockaded since 2015, after Ukraine blocked their supply routes through its territory. The rotation of OGRF personnel has also been hindered by Moldova, which is pushing for their withdrawal.

Chisinau insists on the withdrawal of the OGRF and proposes replacing the peacekeepers with a civilian mission under an international mandate. However, Tiraspol opposes this idea, pointing out that a similar mission was unable to prevent fighting in 1992, which resulted in over 1,000 deaths and tens of thousands of injuries.