TRANSNISTRIANS CALL FOR RUSSIANS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000829

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PARM PBTS MARR PINR RS MD
SUBJECT: TRANSNISTRIANS CALL FOR RUSSIANS TO
INCREASE SIZE OF PEACEKEEPING FORCE

Classified by: Ambassador Asif J. Chaudhry for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

REF: CHISINAU 801


1. (C) Summary: Following the October 14 grenade
blast in Chisinau (reftel),on October 15 the
Transnistrians issued a call for the Russians to
make a fivefold increase to the size of its
peacekeeping contingent, enlarging the group from
400 to 2,400. The Transnistrians cited the recent
events in Chisinau and the possibility of a
destabilized situation as proof of their need for
extra security. This is not the first time they
have made such a call, as a similar request was made
in April, following the April 7 violence. Calls for
an increase in the size of the Russian contingent
are an ongoing part of Transnistrian policy, but the
Russians are unable to respond without Chisinau's
approval. It is possible that the Russians are
using Tiraspol to voice their own desire to increase
the size of their force. End Summary.

Tiraspol Calls for Russians to Deploy More Troops
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) On October 15, following the grenade blast
in the center of town on the evening of October 14,
the Transnistrian delegation to the Joint Control
Commission (JCC) released a statement requesting
that Russia deploy 2,000 extra peacekeeping troops
and a helicopter squadron. The document stressed
that this request was in response to recent
statements made by the new Moldovan authorities, in
particular comments about the need replace the
current peacekeepers with European civilian
observers. The Transnistrian request stated that
any external presence except for the Russian one
would "be perceived by Transnistrians as an
absolutely negative and hostile one."


3. (U) The JCC, which includes delegations from
Moldova, Russia and Transnistria, is the supervising
body of the peacekeeping contingent which consists
of three battalions - Moldovan, Russian and
Transnistrian. It is deployed in the Security Zone
(SZ),a demilitarized buffer zone between
Transnistria and the rest of Moldova.

Background on Russian Deployment of Peacekeepers
-------------- ---


4. (SBU) After the Moldovan and Russian presidents
signed the ceasefire agreement in 1992 putting an
end to war in Transnistria, Russia deployed some
2,400 peacekeepers with heavy equipment and a
helicopter squadron in the Security Zone. By the
late 1990s it was apparent that resumption of armed
hostilities was unlikely, and in 1998 Russia
unilaterally reduced its peacekeeping presence to
one battalion (some 400 troops),and withdrew its
heavy equipment and the helicopter squadron.

Transnistrians Request Likely Russian Policy
--------------


5. (SBU) Appeals to the Russian Federation to
restore its peacekeeping contingent to its initial
size have been an element of Transnistrian
leadership policy for some time. However, Tiraspol
has become more vocal about this desire following
the April 7 unrest in Chisinau. Igor Smirnov also
voiced such a desire following the declarations made
on September 29 in Brussels and New York by
representatives of the Moldovan government
concerning the necessity of withdrawing the Russian
peacekeepers from Transnistria as quickly as
possible.


6. (SBU) An Embassy contact in the Moldovan
delegation to the JCC told us with certainty that he
believed Moscow was using Tiraspol to voice its own
desire to deploy extra troops in Transnistria. No
side in the JCC can deploy additional peacekeepers
without the consent of the other two delegations.
Such a decision-making principle makes it impossible
for Moscow to enhance its military presence in the
region, as Chisinau is unlikely to agree.

Comment

CHISINAU 00000829 002 OF 002


--------------


7. (C) Though Voronin signed the March 18
declaration approving of the presence of Russian
peacekeeping troops, the Russians cannot increase
the size of its contingent without Chisinau's
approval. We believe that Tiraspol is likely to
keep insisting on an increase of the size of the
Russian contingent as a means to put pressure on
Chisinau. Any attempts in Chisinau to discuss a
revision of Moldova's neutral status or any closer
cooperation with NATO will likely trigger repeated
Transnistrian appeals to Russia to build up its
military contingent back to its original size. We
do not doubt that the Russians would seek to use the
events in Chisinau to their own advantage -
Tiraspol's calls to enhance the Russian presence are
one way of doing so.

CHAUDHRY