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Moldova is calling on Russia to remove hundreds of thousands of people from Transnistria, which means the majority of the population, according to pro-Kremlin media. In reality, Chisinau only wants the withdrawal of the Russian army.
NEWS: The Republic of Moldova insists on the withdrawal from Transnistria not only of the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF), but also of the Russian peacekeepers, said the Moldovan Foreign Minister, Mihai Popșoi, in an interview to the RTVI television station.
[...] He hopes that "Russia will realize" the need to withdraw its contingent when "international partners" have found arguments in this regard.
At the same time, Popșoi mentioned that the Transnistrian citizens with Russian citizenship "have close ties and are representatives of the Russian special services".
Over 200 thousand residents of Transnistria also hold Russian citizenship. They serve in the OGRF and in the peacekeeping contingent.
NARRATIVE: The Russophobic authorities in Chisinau want the depopulation of Transnistria.
LOCAL CONTEXT/ETHOS: After the 1992 war in Transnistria, the Agreement on the principles of peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova was signed on July 21, 1992 (also known as the Ceasefire Agreement), which also provided for the creation of a peacekeeping mission formed by soldiers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Moldova and the secessionist region to the left of the Dniester. Initially, the mission consisted of 4,800 soldiers, but over time their number was reduced to less than 1,400 soldiers , according to the specialized publication zonadesecuritate.md.
The peacekeeping mission has often been criticized for its ineffectiveness , but also for serious incidents, such as the shooting of a young Russian peacekeeper in 2012.
For about 20 years, Chisinau has been asking for the transformation of the peace-keeping mission on the Dniester into a civilian one, under an international mandate, and the issue was also raised by the former president of the Republic of Moldova, Nicolae Timofti in his speech at the UN General Assembly in 2012.
Russia has deployed in the region a successor military contingent of the Soviet 14th Army, which was also involved in the Transnistrian conflict on the side of the separatists; officially, that contingent guards the ammunition depot in Cobasna. Russia had promised to release the warehouse and withdraw troops, but has so far failed to fulfill this commitment. Currently, all the steps taken by Chisinau regarding the withdrawal of the Russian army from the territory of the Republic of Moldova are commented by Moscow and Tiraspol as an attempt to destroy the peace-keeping mission, although they are different things.
PURPOSE: To present the efforts made by the Chisinau government to change the status of the peacekeeping mission, as an action against the population (Russian citizens) in the region.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: First of all, the title "Russia must remove the majority of the local population from Transnistria" is a misinterpretation of the statements made by the Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi, who clearly referred to the need to withdraw the Russian military contingent and transform the peacekeeping mission into a civilian one. "There is no need for a military mission. The situation is stable. A civilian police mission would contribute more to improving relations and promoting economic investments," said Popșoi.
Most of the Russian servicemen stationed in the Transnistrian region are actually locals who have acquired Russian citizenship. But the statement that Chisinau's steps regarding their withdrawal and the transformation of the peacekeeping mission mean that the evacuation of the majority of the population from the region is required is a gross interpretation.
It is clear that the publication wants to associate the Russian soldiers with the population of the region, but they account for less than 1% of the total population. Moreover, even though Russian propaganda often refers to the large number of Russian citizens in Transnistria, the presidential elections in Russia (held on the left of the Dniester on March 17, despite Chisinau's protests), saw the lowest number of participants in the last 18 years.
It should also be mentioned here that Chisinau's position regarding the need to transform the peacekeeping mission is not new; efforts in this regard, including from the UN forum, have been made for approximately 20 years.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: Chisinau opts for the transformation of the peacekeeping mission on the Dniester into a civilian one and for the withdrawal of the Russian army from the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
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