The Kremlin Responded to Sandu's Statement on Withdrawing Military from Transdniestria

A change in the status quo might lead to destabilization of the situation in Transdniestria, Dmitry Peskov said. This is the way Kremlin’s spokesman commented on Maya Sandu’s words about the need to withdraw the Russian military from the region,  ria.ru reported. "Russia performs very important functions and, of course, a change in some status quo, that is based on the spirit and letter of international law, can lead to serious destabilization. We expect that all this will be discussed and no or sudden movements in this regard, "- the press secretary of Vladimir Putin said. Peskov also stressed that Moldova and Russia had not discussed previously the proposal to withdraw peacekeepers from Transdniestria. “There is no preliminary discussion on this topic. Of course, we expect that the need for a more balanced approach in the context of our bilateral relations remains great. The dialogue with Dodon continues now, but it was much more constructive in this regard. We also hope that this constructivism will continue, that there will be a certain continuity about it and that we will take into account all possible negative consequences of any abrupt steps, "Peskov told reporters, answering the question of how Moscow reacts to such initiatives, is there any planned telephone conversation or whether there was preliminary discussion on this topic. Recall, President-elect Maia Sandu said at a press conference on Monday that the operational group of the Russian military guarding weapons depots should be withdrawn from the territory of Transdniestria, and the weapons themselves should be removed; she as well suggested leaving civilian observers under the auspices of the OSCE in Transdniestria instead of peacekeepers.