President of Moldova demanded to withdraw Russian troops from Transnistria

Kiev/18.05.22/UNIAN: President of Moldova Maia Sandu, speaking in the European Parliament, demanded the withdrawal of the Russian military from Transnistria.

The Moldovan President stressed that at present there is no immediate threat that the country will be drawn into the war in Ukraine, point.md reports. At the same time, Sandu reminded that Moldova is a neutral country.

"Although, in order to be truly neutral, it is necessary to withdraw Russian troops from our territory. Because their presence fundamentally violates our neutral status and independence," Sandu said. She said that the Transnistrian conflict is one of the many challenges for Moldova.

She noted that the authorities are determined to resolve this issue peacefully while preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova. "We do not want war or destabilization," Sandu said.

She also noted that Russia attacked a neighboring state, as countries did in the past, and "plunged the peoples of Ukraine and the entire European continent into a boundless tragedy." "They wanted to turn Ukraine into something no one would want to become - a geopolitical appendage of a stronger neighbor. We all hoped and waited that these times would never return. But they did," Sandu said.

Sandu also stressed that Moldova supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine: "Crimea is Ukraine, Donbass is Ukraine, Kyiv is Ukraine, and will always be Ukraine."---0--