TIRASPOL. Nov 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Another train left Transdnestria for Russia early on Thursday to withdraw equipment and ammunition of the former 14th Army.
"Twenty train cars of ammunition and other property of the former 14th Army departed for Russia at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday (2300 GMT on Wednesday," a spokesman for the Transdnestrian administration told Interfax-Military News Agency
"It seems to be the last train that the authorities of the Transdnestrian Moldovan Republic have permitted to depart this year. It is senseless to load more trains before the Transdnestrian Moldovan Republic gets the promised offset for part of its gas debt to Russia," the source stressed.
Russia pledged to complete the withdrawal of military property from Transdnestria before December 31, 2003 at the OSCE Istanbul summit in November 1999. About one-third of the 42,000 tonnes of military property and ammunition have been withdrawn since March 2003.
Transdnestrian authorities suspended the withdrawal in June, saying they had not received the promised compensation in writing- off part of the USD100m gas debt to Russia. Specialists say it will take another 45 trains to finalize the withdrawal.
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who will lead NATO starting from January 1, 2004, came to the Kolbasna terminal on Thursday to see how the munitions are stored, the source said.
"OSCE officials are paying special attention to the warehouses' security because tensions have been rising in the security zone lately," the source said.
"The tensions are rising because Moldova has set up 20 customs posts reinforced by special-purpose police on the border with Transdnestria. Moreover, 12 of the posts are in the security zone, while appearance of armed representatives of conflicting parties in this zone is strictly banned by documents on conflict settlement," he noted.
The source stressed that Tiraspol perceives Moldova's actions as "economic blockage and pressure on Transdnestria."