"May lead to serious destabilization": the Kremlin responded to Sandu's statement about peacekeepers in Transnistria

A change in the status quo in Transnistria could lead to the destabilization of the region, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian President, told reporters.

Thus, he commented on the words of the elected President of Moldova, Maya Sandu, who had previously spoken out in favor of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria.

“Russia performs very important functions, and, of course, a change in some status quo, which is based on the spirit and letter of international law, can lead to serious destabilization.

We expect that all this will be discussed and no drastic moves will be made in this regard, ”the Kremlin spokesman said.

He also noted that contacts with the team of the President-elect of Moldova Maya Sandu are maintained at the diplomatic level.

At the same time, Peskov said that Moscow and Chisinau had not previously discussed the proposal to withdraw peacekeepers from Transnistria.

Let us recall that Transnistria, inhabited mainly by Russians and Ukrainians, sought separation from Moldova even before the collapse of the USSR, fearing the annexation of the Moldavian Republic to Romania.

In 1992, Chisinau unsuccessfully tried to resolve the conflict by force, after which Pridnestrovie became virtually outside the control of the Moldovan authorities.

Earlier, Sandu said that Russian peacekeepers should be withdrawn from Transnistria.

“There is no danger of military actions in Transnistria for a long time, the peacekeeping mission should be made civil under the auspices of the OSCE.

This is the position of Moldova, which I emphasize, ”she said.

At the same time, Sandu said she was ready to work on establishing good relations with Russia.

According to her, she has "a very serious agenda for working with this country."

“We want to open exports to Russia, take care of our citizens working there.

I am ready to meet with everyone who is ready to help in such matters, ”RIA Novosti quotes a fragment of Sandu's speech at a press conference.

It should be noted that this is not the first time the elected President of Moldova has spoken out on the topic of Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria.

Recall that the Central Election Commission of Moldova recognized Maya Sanda as the winner of the presidential election.

According to the Central Election Commission, in the second round of voting Sandu won 57.72%, and Dodon - 42.28%.

Soon after her victory in the elections, Sandu gave an interview to the Ukrainian newspaper Evropeyskaya Pravda, in which she outlined her views on a number of important issues for Moldova.

In particular, she expressed the hope that "one day there will be a geopolitical opportunity for the reunification of Moldova."

The President-elect considers it necessary to find a peaceful format for resolving the conflict, adding that it should be suitable for “the whole of Moldova”.

“And it should include the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Moldova.

We have always talked about this, and we will continue to talk about it, ”she said.

The incumbent head of Moldova, Igor Dodon, then expressed the opinion that Sandu's statements about Russian peacekeepers were a mistake.

He also stressed that if the president-elect "starts to pursue an anti-Russian policy," "nothing good will happen" either for the country or for itself.

Dodon added that Moldovans want a "balanced" foreign policy, which implies friendship with both Russia and Europe.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also reacted to Sandu's statement, noting that such statements are aimed at undermining efforts for a peaceful settlement.

“We view this statement as aimed at undermining efforts to peacefully resolve the Transnistrian problem,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The executive director of the CIS-EMO monitoring organization Stanislav Byshok noted that the issue of returning Kishinev's control over Transnistria was constantly raised by pro-Western political forces in Moldova.

"By and large, she (Sandu. -

) went to a large extent with such a traditional program for the pro-Western part of the Moldovan political spectrum," the expert said in an interview with RT.

He noted that for Pridnestrovie, finding Russian peacekeepers has become a common state of affairs.

“For Transnistria, the presence of Russian peacekeepers there is no longer some temporary situation, but a familiar state of affairs.

But it is clear that not everyone likes the presence of the Russian armed contingent on the territory, ”Byshok said.

We add that in the summer of 2020, the head of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, ruled out the possibility of withdrawing Russian peacekeepers from the region.

According to him, "the Russian military presence remains the basic component of peacekeeping in Transnistria."