Oleg Belyakov, "There is no alternative to the current peacekeeping operation"

The second half of the online conference in PGU entitled "Peacekeeping Operation on the Dniester: A quarter of a century of stability and security" was marked by vivid presentations by former and current Pridnestrovian politicians and Russian experts. A peculiar starting point for the continuation of the dialogue was the data of a sociological survey conducted among 520 Pridnestrovians. The most, perhaps, characteristic figure is 98%. That is how many respondents consider it necessary to continue the current peacekeeping operation. The data of the public opinion poll, as well as the express forecast about what figures would have been if the survey were conducted in Moldova and Russia, commented the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Elena Bobkova and the deputy Director of the Dniester-Prut center Igor Shornikov.

As always, the speech of the first Chairman of the Supreme Council of Pridnestrovie Grigory Marakutsa, who addressed the participants of the conference from Moscow, was interesting. He reported an interesting detail. A month before the start of the peacekeeping operation, a telegram was received from the Russian President of that time Boris Yeltsin to the parliament of the republic. He told the deputies in it,  that by agreement with the president of Moldova, Mircea Snegur, the following stages of the conflict settlement were determined: ceasefire; The cultivation of opposing sides for 10 km; The introduction of a peacekeeping contingent in the ratio of 50% of Russia and 25% of Moldova and Pridnestrovie; The beginning of negotiations on the status of Pridnestrovie; Signing of the final document on the status of the republic and only after that the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers.

This idea was continued by Oleg Belyakov, deputy of the Supreme Council, co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission from Pridnestrovie.

Vasiliy Vakarchuk, a member of the JCC, spoke about the main goal of those who seek to unbalance and break the peacekeeping operation.

Vitaly Ignatyev, head of the republic's foreign policy department, believes that the consistent actions of the Moldovan political forces aimed at breaking down the peacekeeping operation, torpedoing the negotiation process, are aimed at changing the balance in the region.

A greeting from the old friend of the republic of the State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin was presented to the participants of the conference by the director of the branch of the Institute of CIS countries in Tiraspol Oleg Ladunkin.