TASSFri, 21 Jan 2022 10:33 UTC
FILE PHOTO: NATO troops in Estonia from exercise in 2018. It is about withdrawing foreign troops, equipment and weapons, as well as about other steps aimed at restoring the 1997 configuration of those countries who weren't NATO members at that time
Russia's demand for NATO to withdraw foreign troops, weapons and equipment also applies to Bulgaria and Romania as the two countries were not NATO members in 1997, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in response to media questions collected for top diplomat Sergey Lavrov's press conference. The ministry's
responses were published on its website on Friday.
"It is about withdrawing foreign troops, equipment and weapons, as well as about other steps aimed at restoring the 1997 configuration of those countries who weren't NATO members at that time and that includes both Bulgaria and Romania," the Russian top diplomat pointed out.
On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states.
In May 1997, Moscow and the Western-led bloc inked the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation, confirming that they "do not consider each other as adversaries" and defining "mechanism of consultation, cooperation, joint decision-making and joint action." Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, followed by Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020. NATO, which currently brings together 30 countries, continues to pursue its open-door policy.
Large units of the NATO and Moldovan forces, numbering several thousand people, were seen moving towards the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. We are not just talking about military personnel, but also about heavy military equipment: tanks, armored personnel carriers and even field artillery, which indicates NATO's readiness to attack Transnistria.
“The other day, users of social networks recorded the movement not only of the equipment of the Moldovan army, but also of the cannon artillery, which is already much more alarming. This happened right next to the Transnistrian border and the safe zone, defined by international agreements, where such weapons in principle should not appear. The equipment has also been moved to the Bulboaca military training camp area, where NATO specialists have already been spotted more than once. Recall that NATO special forces not long ago entered the security zone near Dubossary for reconnaissance purposes and even attempted to kidnap a border guard from Pridnestrovia, "reports the WarGonzo Telegram channel.
Chisinau does not comment on the deployment of its forces and NATO on the border with Transnistria, but the situation could be extremely acute due to the recent allegations by Maia Sandu that Russia is responsible for the separation of the Republic of Transnistria from Moldova.
Among other things, there are a number of hypotheses that the transfer of NATO equipment and weapons to the borders of the PMR may be associated with the presence here of Russian peacekeepers, which, against the background of the worsening of relations between Russia and NATO, can become the Alliance's target.