BFF-08 UN backs call for Russia to withdraw troops from Moldova

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MOLDOVA-CONFLICT-UN

UN backs call for Russia to withdraw troops from Moldova

UNITED NATIONS, United States, June 23, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The UN General
Assembly on Friday backed a call from Britain, Canada, Poland and eight other
countries for Russia to withdraw its troops from a breakaway region of
Moldova.

The non-binding resolution — the first to demand a Russian withdrawal
from Moldova — was adopted by a vote of 64 to 15 with 83 abstentions at the
193-nation assembly.

Russia, Iran, Armenia, Belarus, Syria and North Korea were among the 15
countries that opposed the measure urging Russia to complete “unconditionally
and without further delay the withdrawal” of its troops from Moldova.

Russia sent troops to Moldova’s Trans-Dniester region after the 1991
collapse of the Soviet Union to quell fighting in the Russian-speaking area
that declared independence from Chisinau, the Moldovan capital.

The region is considered one of the many “frozen conflicts” in the former
Soviet Union.

Peace efforts have stumbled over demands for a Russian military
withdrawal.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy argued that the vote at the
United Nations assembly undermined efforts by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to settle the conflict in Moldova.

The measure was also backed by Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, the three Baltic
countries, Romania and the Czech Republic.

The resolution placed demands for Russian troop withdrawal from Moldova on
the agenda of the assembly, which will hold a debate on the situation in the
coming months.

BSS/AFP/AU/08:20 hrs