MOLDOVA:

There are still thousands of Russian troops in Moldova, in violation of a 1994 agreement providing for their prompt withdrawal. The Russian forces help prop up the breakaway regime of General Igor Smirnov in Transdniester, that part of Moldova east of the Dniester River, with a majority of Russian speakers in its population. Last week Russia’s Foreign Ministry rejected Moldova’s latest appeal for withdrawal, asserting that the Duma never ratified the 1994 agreement, that the political situation in Transdniester remains unsettled, and that the Russian presence promotes “regional stability.”