Moldova urges Russia to allow OSCE inspection of arms depots in Transnistria
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Sunday, 09 October 2005
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Chisinau, October 8, 2005 (Moldova.org) ? The Moldovan delegation, at a meeting of the OSCE's permanent council in Vienna where the situation in Transnistria was discussed, voiced the position of the Moldovan government emphasizing the necessity to transform the peacekeeping forces in Moldovas breakaway Transnistrian region into a mission of military and civilian observers under the OSCE mandate.
According to Infotag news agency, meeting participants examined the results of a five-party meeting held in Odessa, Ukraine on 26-27 September. At the meeting OSCE, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Transnistria express their readiness to resume the negotiation process and have the European Union and the USA as observers at future talks.
At the Vienna meeting, the Moldovan delegation insisted to resume the decommissioning of the ammunition stored at Colbasna, large munitions depot of the Russian army on the left bank of Nistru (Dniestr), a territory controlled by Transnistrian separatists. Members of the delegation stated that the Russian Defence Ministry should allow OSCE military experts to inspect Russian arms depots in the Transnistrian region. So far, Russians explain that the inspections could not take place due to disagreement of Transnistrians, explanations that are not in line with reality since Transnistrians are just Moscows puppets.
In a statement that was distributed to media, the Moldovan Foreign and European Integration Ministry welcomed the involvement of the EU and the US in the settlement of the Tansnistrian conflict. "The legal status, defined by [Moldovas] law, grants the Transnistrian region a wide autonomy within Moldova which is in line with the OSCEs and the Council of Europes principles," the statement says.
At the same meeting in Vienna, delegations of Azerbaijan and Georgia, Moldovas allies within GUAM (an organization that includes Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova), praised high the involvement of the US and EU in the new negotiation format for the settlement of the 15-year old conflict in Transnistria.
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