Moldovan foreign affairs minister reiterates demand for withdrawal of Russian troops in speech at OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna

Chisinau, 7 December /MOLDPRES/ - Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Andrei Galbur today gave a speech at the 24th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, held in Vienna on 7-8 December, the Foreign and European Integration Ministry’s (MAEIE) public diplomacy, strategic communication and media interaction service has reported.   

In his speech, the Moldovan diplomacy head tackled up-to-date issues on OSCE’s agenda. Galbur stressed the importance of a comprehensive attitude in terms of security, need to revitalize the control over the conventional armament in Europe, as well as of fulfilling the international commitments taken by the participating countries – measures which ground the capacities and efforts or the Organization in order to prevent and manage the crises from the region, implicitly the Ukrainian one, taking into account its impact on the regional security environment.   

As for the Transnistrian conflict, Minister Galbur reconfirmed the importance of the process of five-plus-two negotiations and, in the context, of the Vienna meeting from 27-28 November 2017. Andrei Galbur expressed thanks to the Austrian OSCE chairmanship for its valuable contribution to this end. The Moldovan official highlighted the Chisinau authorities’ determination to continue sustained efforts in order to identify a comprehensive and lasting solution through providing a special status to the Transnistrian region, by observing Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.   

In particular, Minister Andrei Galbur said that “Moldova remains deeply concerned about the illegal continuous presence of the foreign military troops on its territory. We firmly reiterate our demand for the full withdrawal of the Russian military forces from Moldova, in line with the international commitments and provisions of Moldova’s Constitution.”  

Also, Moldovan foreign affairs minister reiterated the request to start pertinent discussions on transforming the present peacekeeping operation into a civilian mission with international mandate.