MADRID. June 4 (Interfax-AVN) - Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has reaffirmed Moscow's intention to transport Russian military equipment out of Transdnestria in keeping with the schedule coordinated with the Moldovan authorities.
"In the past few months, the military equipment has been shipped on schedule. Unless there is a disruption, the shipment should be wrapped up by the dates coordinated with the Moldovan side," Ivanov said at a press conference in Madrid.
"Russia has no interest in keeping the equipment in Transdnestria," he said.
Asked about Russia-NATO cooperation in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan, Ivanov replied that Moscow "does not plan to deploy a military contingent to Afghanistan."
Russia and NATO are discussing different forms of cooperation "without the direct involvement of Russian troops," he said.
Commenting on the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ivanov pointed out that "the pullout of our contingents from these countries does not mean Russia's departure from the Balkans."
Moscow will continue promoting stabilization in the Balkans "both on the bilateral level and in multilateral formats including NATO, the European Union and the OSCE," he said.