The Moldovan Delegation to the Joint Control Commission – charged with the supervision of security arrangements in the Transnistrian Security Zone – reported that on July 31 Transnistrian force structures violated the arrangements in the demilitarized zone under the pretense of stopping illegal land cultivation. 

The violation comes just six days after the Moldovan Delegation to the Joint Control Commission requested a drafted commitment that would ensure all parties abstain from military actions, movement near the border or any other action that would disturb security in the demilitarized zone. 

The July 25 proposal came in response to the actions of the Transnistrian force structures in August of last year. During a break in the Commission’s activity, the Operative Russian Troops Group tested their TABs (Amphibious Armoured Personnel Carrier) without the knowledge or consent of the Moldovan authorities. 

The representatives from Tiraspol rejected the proposal, but did not give a reason for this decision.

On July 31, representatives of the Transnistria region’s force structures took new provocative actions in the central sector of the Security Zone. Near a terrain where land cultivation was taking place, an on duty police officer from Coșnița observed a group of four individuals dressed in military field uniforms and badges bearing the inscription “border patrol” in Russian (пограничные войска). According to their epaulets, the individuals held the military ranks of lieutenant colonel, major, captain and major platooneer. These so-called officers refused to identify themselves, stating that they had come to stop illegal land cultivation work on the administrative territory under the jurisdiction of the Transnistrian authorities. 

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However, when the representatives from the Dubăsari Land Registry and Cadastre Directorate arrived, the self-proclaimed border guards withdrew to the Grigoriopol – Dubăsari road. According to the Land Registry and Cadastre, the lands in question fall under the jurisdiction of Coșnița City Hall. 

Moldova’s delegation informed the Commission and the Joint Military Command about the Tiraspol force structure’s violation of the Security Zone’s regime and called for measures to be taken to ease the tensions in the aforementioned locality.

At a meeting of the Co-Presidents of the Commission on August 2, the leader of the Transnistrian delegation maintained that there will be no future actions that could strain the situation in the Security Zone. 

The Joint Control Commission was established after the 1992 Transnistrian War as a trilateral peacekeeping force and military command structure. It is made up of three parties: Moldova, Russia and the Transnistrian Region (an unrecognized breakaway territory belonging to Moldova). The Commission is responsible for ensuring the ceasefire and security arrangements in the region where it operates, which is known as the Nistru River Valley Security Zone. 

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