Russia’s Foreign Ministry Names Conditions for Discussing Withdrawal of Troops from Transnistria

The issue of withdrawing Russian troops from Transnistria cannot be resolved without progress in settling the conflict in the region, according to Alexey Polishchuk, Director of the Second CIS Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry. The diplomat stated that the conflict in Transnistria is still far from being resolved, kommersant.ru reports. “Russian military personnel in Transnistria perform two functions – peacekeeping and guarding ammunition depots that have existed there since Soviet times,” Polishchuk recalled. Alexey Polishchuk made the comments in response to remarks by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who said during her visit to Chisinau that negotiations on Ukraine should include the issue of withdrawing Russian troops from Transnistria.