Dodon: Issue of Foreign Troops Withdrawal From Moldova Unlikely to Go To UNGA

Plans of Moldovan government to raise the issue of foreign troops withdrawal at the United Nations General Assembly are likely to remain at the level of declarations, Moldovan President Igor Dodon told Sputnik Saturday.

CHISINAU (Sputnik) — The statement comes after the Moldova Constitutional Court ruled the Russian presence in the ethnic Russian and Ukrainian dominated region as illegal. In a letter published August 22, the former Soviet republic asked the UN General Assembly to discuss a complete withdrawal of foreign armed forces from Transnistria at its regular session in September.

"I am sure that this yet another anti-Russian demarche of Moldova's government will stay only at the level of declarations and is directed at the external Western consumer in hope to gain support for getting yet another portion of financial injections," Dodon said.

The Moldovan president stressed that this showed the lack of professionalism of Moldovan officials regarding the matter.

"It has nothing in common with the interests of Moldova, and I am sure that it is not supported by the majority of Moldovans. I hope that all these maneuvers will not lead to destabilization of the situation on Dniester and will not lead to tough decisions of our Russian partners towards the citizens of Moldova," the Moldovan leader pointed out.

A unit of Russian troops is currently located on the territory of Transnistria. The group, a successor of a Soviet army unit which had come under Russia’s jurisdiction, is in charge of a peace-support mission and preserving security of the ammunition warehouses in the region.

Transnistria, a region which has a predominantly ethic Russian and Ukrainian population, seceded from the Soviet Republic of Moldova for fear of its possible reunion with Romania in 1990. The separation led to a conflict that ended in a ceasefire announced on July 21, 1992, but the conflict remains unresolved.