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The leader of Moldova's renegade
province Transnistria on Monday called for a three-fold increase in
Russian troops stationed in the region, the Interfax news agency
reported. Igor Smirnov, Transnistria's authoritarian leader, said
Russia should increase its "peacekeeper" force in the district from
some 1,000 to 3,000 men.
"I believe that Russia should increase its
peacekeeping contingent in Transnistria to 3,000 persons," Smirnov
said. "(The increase) would not be in violation of international
obligations (taken on by Moscow.)"
Smirnov's call for an increase in the Russian troop
presence would, if agreed to by Moscow, reverse years of gradual
demilitarization in the region.
Russian forces fought on the Transnistrian side
during Moldova's civil war ending in 1992. The Kremlin in 1999 promised
to remove the last of its troops from the region by the end of 2003.
The Kremlin currently maintains troops in
Transnistria as peacekeepers and arms depot guards. Russian officials
have said the troops should remain in place despite the 2003 deadline,
because of a need to maintain security in the region.
The Moldova-Transnistria ceasefire line has been
peaceful for more than a decade, despite the technical state of war
still in effect between Chisinau and Tiraspol.
Russian-speaking Transnistria seceded from
Romanian-speaking Moldova after a civil war ending in 1992. Like the
Georgian renegade provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russia is
Transnistria's main backer.
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