{"id":445591,"date":"2018-06-18T16:49:30","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T16:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=445591"},"modified":"2018-06-18T16:49:30","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T16:49:30","slug":"weekly-roundup-moldovas-un-resolution-russians-move-within-security-zone-grand-theft-recovery-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/weekly-roundup-moldovas-un-resolution-russians-move-within-security-zone-grand-theft-recovery-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Roundup: Moldova’s UN resolution, Russians move within Security Zone, and the “Grand Theft” recovery strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

It’s a late edition of Moldova.org’s Weekly Roundup.<\/p>\n

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Moldova’s UN General Assembly resolution<\/a>:<\/strong> On 15 June 2018, the Foreign Minister of Moldova, Tudor Ulianovschi, announced on Friday about the registration of a draft resolution on the \u201cwithdrawal of foreign military forces\u201d at the United Nations Secretariat.<\/p>\n

The resolution titled\u00a0\u201cComplete and unconditional withdrawal of foreign military forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>is expected to be addressed to the UN General Assembly on June 22nd. Around 10 states are sponsors of the resolution. The resolution calls on the UN Member States to urge the Russian Federation to \u201ccomplete orderly, unconditionally and without further delay the withdrawal of the Russian Operational Group of Russian Forces\u201d (more commonly known as OGRT or\u00a0OGRV), in accordance to its commitment agreed at the 1999\u00a0OSCE Istanbul Summit, but also the UN Charter.<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Ulianovschi emphasized that the resolution does not call for the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping contingent which is under the command of the Joint Control Commission, the main peacekeeping mechanism in the Transnistrian conflict settlement.<\/p>\n

Moscow and Tiraspol are (obviously) not happy about the resolution (1st page<\/a>,\u00a02nd page<\/a>), nor are some experts in the area.<\/p>\n

Vlad Lupan, Moldova\u2019s ex-Ambassador to UN,\u00a0has found the draft resolution language too soft and imprecise<\/a>\u00a0on the terms of the withdrawal, and on the impartiality of Russia in the Transnistrian conflict settlement and the acting peacekeeping mission. Ambassador Lupan didn’t bother going deep<\/a> into the details of the resolution.<\/p>\n

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Pure coincidence:\u00a0<\/strong>Three columns of military\u00a0vehicles, apparently Russian, were reported<\/a> to be moving on the Tiraspol-R\u00e2bni\u021ba road in the Transnistrian region of Moldova in the morning of June 14th.<\/p>\n

Some 40 TABs, DRDMs, URALs, ZILs, KAMAZes, and UAZes, accompanied by Transnistrian \u201cpolice\u201d were spotted on their way to the north of the region- most probably, to the Colbasna military depot.<\/p>\n

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The Moldovan Bureau of Reintegration\u00a0expressed its concern<\/a>\u00a0in regard to the unauthorized movement of these military units within the presumably demilitarized Security Zone. Chi\u0219in\u0103u declared that it found \u201cunjustified\u201d application of \u201cpeacekeeping forces\u201d symbols on the vehicles, most of which belong to the Operative Group of Russian Troops, illegally stationed in Moldova.<\/p>\n