Russia must withdraw its troops from Transnistria because the presence of its soldiers violates Moldova's neutrality.
This was reported by Moldovan President Maya Sandu during a speech in the European Parliament.
«Today there is no inevitable threat of Moldova's involvement in the war, we are a neutral country, but for this we call for the withdrawal of russian troops from Transnistria because their presence violates our neutrality», RBC-Ukraine quoted Sandu.
The Moldovan president also stressed that the political leadership is trying to resolve the Transnistrian conflict peacefully, taking into consideration the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.
«We do not want destabilization, we have a vision of peaceful reintegration of the country», Sandu stressed.
A limited group of russian troops (about 1,600 servicemen) is billeted in the territory of unrecognized Transnistria, and more than 20,000 tons of ammunition are stored at military depots in the village of Kolbasna, Rybnytskyi district.
The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic declared its independence in 1990. At the same time, no UN member state recognized PMR as a sovereign state. The "government" of the republic has repeatedly asked Moscow to include it in russia. For instance, the referendum was held in the republic in 2006, in which 97.2% of locals voted to join russia, but the vote was recognized as legitimate only by russia.
In 2018, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Moldova, but russia did not heed.