A bridge over the Nistru river, in the Security Zone, will be subject to complex technical expertise, the decision was taken during the meeting of the Joint Control Commission. Therefore, tests and examinations of the bridge elements that unite the Criuleni and Lunga localities will be conducted in the upcoming year under the Moldovan State Road Administration supervision. Strengthening infrastructure could help to strengthen the connectivity between the two banks of the Nistru river, contributing to the Transnistrian conflict settlement.

Om November 28, the Joint Control Commission met, at the initiative of the Moldovan delegation, allowing the access in the Security Zone of experts that will test and examine a bridge that unites the Criuleni and Lunga localities.

Between November 2019 – June 2020 under the Moldovan State Road Administration supervision, which is part of the Ministry of Economy, will be conducted different studies, examination, and testing of the bridge elements that unite the Criuleni and Lunga localities. 

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.

The agenda of the meeting lacked the subject promoted by Russia’s representatives regarding the verification and analysis of the situation in the Security Zone following the Transnistrian side’s introduction on May 1 of its border guard structures and the extension of their competences. 

It was agreed that the issue will be examined during consultations at the level of the three Commission co-chairs, with the participation of a representative from Ukraine and the O.S.C.E. Mission to Moldova.

During the meeting of the Joint Control Commission for the Transnistrian Security Zone on October 3, 2019, the head of the delegation of the Russian Federation, Ilia Uvarov, came with additional arguments about the importance of checking and analyzing the situation in the demilitarized zone following the Transnistrian side’s decision to introduce illegal border guards posts on May 1, 2019.

In May, the unrecognized Transnistrian authorities introduced illegal “border guard” structures in the Security Zone, assigning them powers of control over the persons and means of transport entering or leaving the region. 

These abusive actions represent an attempt to establish a border in the Security Zone and a serious breach of the Moldovan-Russian Agreement of July 21, 1992, which outlined the principles for peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, as well as the mechanisms for decision making at the level of the Joint Control Commission.

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Moldova’s delegation as well as the representatives of the OSCE Mission and Ukraine, support the initiative of the Russian Federation delegation. But the Transnistrian delegation still refuses to accept it, creating a bottleneck in the Commission’s work.

In the absence of a consensus, the Commission has been carrying out its work without this subject on the agenda.

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On September 12, 2019, the Russian Federation delegation to the Joint Control Commission submitted a compromise proposal for examining the situation in the Transnistrian Security Zone resulting from the installation of illegal border posts. This marked the fourth consecutive month in a row the proposal was submitted, with the support of the representatives of Moldova, Ukraine and the OSCE Mission to Moldova. However, the Transnistrian delegation rejected the idea once again. 

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The parties also couldn’t find consensus on the proposal offered by Moldova’s delegation regarding the elaboration of the Regulation of the activity of the Joint Military Command, which would include all the relevant decision-making acts adopted over the years.

The members of the Joint Control Commission have only succeeded in approving the weekly report of the Joint Military Command on the situation in the Security Zone from November 20 to 26, 2019. After heated discussions, the other agenda items were transferred to the next meeting of the Commission, scheduled for December 5 this year.