Transdnestr leader Igor Smirnov said in...
"We said long ago that we are ready [for this]; we have asked Russia to keep its military presence indefinitely. We would not protest the deployment of Russian forces with any weapons for the protection of the Transdnestr, Russian and Ukrainian people," Smirnov said when answering journalists" questions about Transdnestr"s readiness to host Russian ballistic missile defense systems.
What could be the objective of a Russian base in the republic, should it be deployed there?
The desire of Transdnestr to host a Russian military base is understandable, as Russia"s influence reinforced with a group of forces is one of the main guarantees of the republic"s potential sovereignty and independence. A stronger Russian military presence would be an additional factor.
Currently, Russia has approximately 1,500 troops armed with light weapons and hardware in Transdnestr protecting the weapons warehouses of the former 14th General Purpose Army of the former Soviet Union.