UN General Assembly adopts resolution demanding withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria
The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution on the “Complete and unconditional withdrawal of foreign military forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova". The draft resolution was proposed by Moldova and co-authored by ten countries, including Canada, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine and Estonia. 64 states voted for the document, while 14 countries voted against. 83 states abstained.
The United States, Romania, Ukraine, Canada, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Honduras, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the UK and almost all other European Union member countries, as well as a number of other states, voted in favor of the resolution.
The resolution stressed that the UN urges Russia “to complete, unconditionally and without further delay, the orderly withdrawal” of troops and weapons from the territory of Moldova. The countries voting in favor of the document express deep concern "about the continued stationing of the Operational Group of Russian Forces on the territory of the Republic of Moldova without the consent of that State or of the United Nations."
Before the vote, Moldovan Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration Tudor Ulianovschi also stressed that "nearly 27 years after the country [of Moldova] gained independence, and 26 years after it became a member state of the United Nations”, Russian troops are still illegally on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
"The presence of foreign military forces and weapons on the territory of Moldova without ‘Moldova’s clearly expressed consent is not only incompatible with its independence, sovereignty and neutrality, it also contradicts international law and the UN Charter," RBKquoted the Moldovan minister as saying.
A Russian representative, speaking at the session of the General Assembly, responded that Moscow has fulfilled the mandate of the mission for the political settlement of the conflict in Transdniestria. The Russian diplomat stressed that Chisinau's position is destructive and contradicts international agreements.
Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip said that the results of the voting showed that 64 states "supported the desire to respect the independence and territorial integrity of Moldova". "This is a historic decision and, perhaps, the most important since [our] independence. This is a success for Moldovan diplomacy, for the government, but, more importantly, for our country and all its inhabitants," Filip wrote on Facebook.
The resolution concerns Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF) located on the territory of Transdniestria, whose main task is the protection ammunition depots in the village of Cobasna on the left bank of the Dniester River, Sputnik Moldova reports. Unlike the decisions of the UN Security Council, the resolutions of the General Assembly are not binding.