The peacekeeping operation on the Dniester is 33 years old

The peacekeeping operation on the Dniester began 33 years ago. The introduction of Russian peacekeepers into Pridnestrovie began on July 29, 1992 in accordance with the agreement "On the principles of peaceful settlement ...". A traditional flower-laying ceremony was held this morning, in honor of this date at the Peace Arch "Blessed are the Peacekeepers", installed in 2017 at the exit from Parkany towards Bendery. The participants included the Chairman of the Supreme Council Alexander Korshunov, the Chairman of the Government Alexander Rosenberg, the Plenipotentiary Representatives of the Republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Pridnestrovie Alexander Vataman and Vitaly Yankovsky, the First President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Igor Smirnov, representatives of public associations, the clergy, members of the JCC, and peacekeepers.

The Chairman of the Supreme Council lived in the Leninsky microdistrict of the city of Bendery in 1992. The Leninsky district was cut off from the rest of the city when Moldovan units entered on June 19, recalls Alexander Korshunov. The next 40 days of the war went down in history as the "Bendery Tragedy", which claimed the lives of 489 people. There were no more victims after the peacekeeping operation fully unfolded on the banks of the Dniester.

The events in honor of the 33rd anniversary of the introduction of peacekeepers into Pridnestrovie after the Arch of Peace continued at the "Dove of Peace" monument in Bendery. It was constructed at the expense of Bendery residents for the 20th anniversary of the peacekeeping operation. Fresh flowers were laid at the memorial sign. 

The peacekeeping operation on the Dniester became possible thanks to the agreement signed in Moscow "On the principles of peaceful settlement of the armed conflict...". The document was signed in the presence of the President of Pridnestrovie Igor Smirnov by the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Moldova Boris Yeltsin and Mircea Snegur on July 21, 1992. The agreement made it possible to form a tripartite peacekeeping mechanism and a governing body – the Joint Control Commission. Peace has been maintained in Pridnestrovie for more than three decades. The positive role of the Russian peacekeeping mission is protected in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic at the level of law. An article was added to the Criminal Code of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic providing for punishment for denying the positive role of the Russian peacekeeping mission in 2016.