Free Republic

Transdnestr leader Igor Smirnov said in Moscow on Monday that the breakaway republic in Moldova was not opposed to Russia deploying its Iskander tactical missiles in the republic. "We said long ago that we are ready [for this]; we have asked Russia to keep its military presence indefinitely. We would not protest the deployment of Russian forces with any weapons for the protection of the Transdnestr, Russian and Ukrainian people," Smirnov said when answering journalists' questions about Transdnestr's readiness to host Russian ballistic missile defense systems. What could be the objective of a Russian base in the republic, should it...

TIRASPOL, March 24 (RIA Novosti) - The president of the unrecognized Moldovan republic of Transdnestr said on Tuesday a Russian military base could be established in the country. "If Russia needs military bases here, we have legislation on Russian troops," Igor Smirnov told journalists. The leaders of Russia, Moldova and Transdnestr agreed last Wednesday to continue talks on the issue of the disputed Transdnestr region at a meeting in Moscow. The leaders confirmed the importance of the five-plus-two format, comprising Russia, Ukraine, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the U.S. the EU, Moldova and Transdnestr. Relations between Moldova and its rebel...

The problem of withdrawal of Russian armed forces and armament from the territory of the republic remains a priority of OSCE mission in Moldavia, Head of OSCE mission to Republic of Moldova Luis O’Neill stated Sep 20 at a press conference in Chisinau, REGNUM correspondent reports. “Commitments undertaken by the Russian Federation at the OSCE summit in Istanbul remain in force, and Mission is ready to exert help to Russia in this regard and insists that the process is continued.” According to O’Neill, 20,000 tons of ammunitions can be evacuated in six months, given the necessary political will is available."...

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Vladimir Simonov.) Washington has officially announced its readiness to join the talks on the settlement of the long and slowly developing Transdnestr conflict. The self-proclaimed republic is trying to protect its independence from the encroachments of Moldova. The U.S. State Department has also expressed a desire to become a major player on another "field of contention" in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) - South Ossetia. This enclave is trying to gain independence from Georgia, especially after the bloody clashes of the early 1990s, when both sides lost thousands of lives. To make a...