Russian Troops To Stay In Transdniester
May 31, 2006
Russian peacekeeping forces withdrew some military hardware from Transdniester in 2003 (ITAR-TASS)
Speaking at a meeting of defense ministers from the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, Ivanov accused the United States and NATO of double standards.
He said that the United States and NATO demand that Russia pull out its 1,800 troops in Transdniester, but insist that, in his words, the planned deployment of up to 3,000 U.S. troops at several bases in Bulgaria is "not a significant military presence."
The chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is due to travel from Moldova to Transdniester on June 1. Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht is scheduled to hold talks in Tiraspol with the separatist leader, Igor Smirnov.
De Gucht will then head to Ukraine for talks with President Viktor Yushchenko and other top officials.
(Interfax, AP)
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