Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has left a warning to Moldova about the breakaway region of Transnistria, which has Russian “peace soldiers”.
At a school event on Thursday, Sergei Lavrov said that the Moldovan authorities must “understand” that “any action that threatens the security of Russian troops” in Transnistria will be “regarded, under international law, as an attack directed at Russia.”
“As far as our interests are concerned, our peacekeeping forces are stationed there. […] protecting Europe’s largest ammunition depot in Kolbasna,” Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
The minister gave the example of South Ossetia, Georgia. In 2008, the ruler recalls, the Georgian authorities attacked Russian troops, prompting a response from Moscow: and so will Moldova if you do the same.
In response, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry reminded Russia that “the constitution” of the country does not allow interference from other countries in Moldovan home affairs.
Transnistria announced its separation from Moldova after a brief civil war in the early 1990s, but no country recognized independence, including Russia. However, Moscow maintains 1,500 troops in the territory, which it frames as a peacekeeping force.
Source: Observadora
