The visit of the leadership of the Russian military establishment to the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic began with visit to the peacekeeping post. Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu checked the conditions of service by Russian peacekeepers and listened to the reports of the Senior Military Chief of the peacekeeping contingent of the Joint Forces of the Russian Federation Oleg Leukhin and the Head of the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Pridnestrovie Dmitry Zelenkov.
The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky met Russian guests in the Alexander Nevsky Park in Bendery. The meeting participants were greeted by servicemen of the Company of honor guard of the PMR, pupils of the Tiraspol Suvorov Military School and the cadet corps, as well as youth army members. Vadim Krasnoselsky and Sergey Shoygu laid flowers at the bust of the commander, whose name has the park located near the walls of the Bendery fortress and visited the exhibition hall, which houses an exposition that reflects the history of the Russian army on the banks of the Dniester. Here the ceremony of awarding the Pridnestrovian and Russian servicemen with the medal “For Strengthening the Military Commonwealth” (award of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation) was held.
Opening the official part of the meeting, the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky expressed gratitude to the Russian Federation and the Minister of Defense personally for the contribution to peacekeeping on the banks of the Dniester. Speaking about the peacekeeping mission, he emphasized that the Russian soldier has been protecting security in the territory of Pridnestrovie for more than two centuries, and not two and a half decades, as is commonly believed. Today's peacekeepers are the successors of the glorious traditions of Russian peacekeeping, the foundations of which were laid back in 1792 - in the Suvorov epoch, when Tiraspol was founded, Vadim Krasnoselsky emphasized.
The importance of Russian peacekeeping and the attitude of Pridnestrovians towards this mission is evidenced by the introduction of liability in the criminal legislation of the republic for denying its positive role, the President of the PMR noted. He also spoke about the inadmissibility of changing the format of the Russian peacekeeping mission on the banks of the Dniester. For his part, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu noted the high level of operation efficiency, emphasizing that this format, which has become a successful example of establishing and maintaining peace, proved its value.
The interlocutors discussed practical issues related to ensuring the operation of group of Russian forces in Pridnestrovie, as well as aspects related to the organization of the process of disposing of ammunition with an expiring shelf life. Activities of educational institutions of military orientation were mentioned. For example, that educators should actively participate in events held in the Russian Federation through the Suvorov movement.
The participants in the meeting paid attention to the topic of liberating the territory of the republic from Nazi invaders, whose 75th anniversary was celebrated on the eve of Pridnestrovie. Sergey Shoygu gave Vadim Krasnoselsky documents and materials on the military route during the Second World War and the feat of Sergeant Chichik Anton Grigoryevich - a native of the Pridnestrovian village of Karagash. Among his many awards there is Order of Glory II and I degree. Sergey Shoygu expressed the hope that it would be handed over to the sergeant's relatives.
The meeting of the PMR President and the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation continued without participation of the media. In addition to Sergey Shoygu, the Russian delegation includes Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Fomin, Head of the Main Operations Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces Sergey Rudskoy, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Russia to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov, Head of the Main Directorate of Personnel of the Russian Defense Ministry Viktor Goremykin and Head of the Main Directorate of International military cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Kshimovsky. The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky was accompanied during the meeting by the Head of the PMR Presidential Administration Sergey Belous, the Chairman of the PMR Government Alexander Martynov, the PMR Minister of Defense Oleg Obruchkov, and the Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev.
