TIRASPOL, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - Peacekeeping forces must remain in Moldova's breakaway province of Transdnestr until a viable settlement of the conflict has been reached, a Russian diplomat said Saturday.

Transdnestr, which has a predominantly Russian speaking population, proclaimed independence shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991-92, sparking an armed conflict with Moldova that ended in a ceasefire agreement.

"We are convinced that the peacekeeping mission must continue as a guarantee of peace in the region until a stable and viable accord has been reached," Yury Mordvintsev, Russia's temporary charge d'affaires in Moldova, said at a rally marking the 14th anniversary of the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the conflict zone.

He slammed some politicians' calls for the peacekeepers to be withdrawn saying that there were no guarantees that the situation in the region would never deteriorate.