The weekly meeting of the Joint Control Commission has taken place

On March 31, 2022, the members of the Joint Control Commission met in Bender for a new attempt to identify solutions to the pressing problems in the Security Zone.

As in the past four weeks, controversy has arisen over the formation of the agenda and has focused on the temporary withdrawal of Ukrainian military observers from the Joint Peacekeeping Forces.

The Delegation of the Republic of Moldova mentioned that the main element in the impasse created is the non-existence of an activity regulation of the Joint Military Command, reiterating the call to initiate the elaboration of this document corresponding to the objective of ensuring the proper functioning of the security monitoring mechanism.

In order to unblock the work of the Commission, the delegation of the Republic of Moldova made a constructive proposal on the continuation of the activities of the Joint Military Command as usual until the return of the group of military observers delegated by Ukraine.

In their remarks, representatives of Ukraine and the OSCE Mission to Moldova said that there were currently no impediments to the continued functioning of the military component under the established regime.

The proposal of the Moldovan delegation was discussed at length in a wide format both by all members of the Commission and at the level of the co-chairs with the participation of representatives of Ukraine and the OSCE Mission, and was finally accepted by all parties, the agenda being approved and the meeting being declared opened.

Following the hearing of 5 reports of the Joint Military Command on the situation in the Security Zone, other current issues in need of immediate solving were brought to the attention of the Commission.

Thus, the management of the Bender Police Inspectorate signaled that Tiraspol's enforcing structures are expanding their presence in the district with increased security regime, by consolidating the infrastructure of the illegal posts of the so-called "customs officers" and "border guards". Moldovan police officers reported that on March 26, at the entrance to Fârlădeni village, Căușeni district from the locality of Gâsca (which is under the control of the constitutional authorities), the Transnistrian forces installed a new construction in addition to the wagon that was already operating there. In a written address, the Chairman of the Joint Investigation Task Force requested the Commission to intervene in order to put an end to this breach and to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Agreement of July 21, 1992.

A similar problem was addressed to the Commission by the mayor of Coşnița commune, Dubăsari district, who expressed the perplexity and disagreement of the population regarding Tiraspol's intention to consolidate the posts on the Coşnița - Dubăsari sector. The local elected official pointed out that such posts obstruct the free movement in the Security Zone, including the owners of agricultural lands located along the Tiraspol-Râbnița route, and the citizens expect the elimination of the impediments rather than the “modernization” of the posts. The mayor asked the Commission to examine the issue with a view to considering that the inhabitants of villages artificially separated by illegal posts have good neighborly relations and mutual understanding.

The delegation of the Republic of Moldova addressed a recent issue related to the wearing of emblems with unregulated symbols (letter "Z") by some members of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces from the Russian Federation. Representatives of the Russian Federation were asked to bring the military equipment in accordance with the documents of the peacekeeping mission on the Nistru River.

The OSCE Mission to Moldova has notified the Commission that all members of the Special Monitoring Mission, evacuated from Ukraine and temporarily housed at Vadul lui Vodă, as well as their means of transport have left the Security Zone.

In the context of monitoring the situation in the Security Zone, the OSCE Mission to Moldova announced the observation of a column of 10 vehicles, which on 3 February 2022 were traveling north on the M4 route near Dzerjinscoe. Most of the transport units were registered with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, and 3 "Ural" trucks had the insignia ”MC” of the peacekeeping subdivisions. The delegation of the Republic of Moldova states that the movement of the military column took place without a decision of the Joint Military Command.

The Commission has not taken any decision on the issues raised, while a new regular meeting is to be convened on April 7.

The delegation of the Republic of Moldova to the Joint Control Commission