Russia: OPCW reputation undermined long ago

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday that a recent statement by the president-elect of Moldova, Maia Sandu, on Russian troops in the Transnistria region was "aimed at disrupting a peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian problem."

"We would like to remind that in the region where the Russian peacekeepers are present, stability has been maintained for already 25 years, blood has not been shed and no shots have been fired," said the spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Moldova faces a pro-Russian secessionist movement in its Transnistria region.

Moscow last year conducted the third annual joint military exercise with separatist troops in Transnistria and has about 1,000 troops stationed there.

Ever since gaining independence in 1992 after the Soviet collapse in 1991, Moldova has been divided between those favoring closer relations with the European Union and those who prefer stronger links with Moscow.

Sandu favour closer ties with the West and said recently that she would insist on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria.

Zakhharova also commented on the reputation of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, speaking of the Navalny case. She said the organization has lost credibility.

"Its reputation (reputation of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) has been undermined long time ago by your own efforts, our dear Western partners. It has been undermined by false reports on chemical provocations in Syria," she said.