The United States would ratify an adaptation agreement on the European arms treaty only if Russia withdrew its troops from Moldova unconditionally, reports from Moldova's capital Chisinau said on Friday.

As an explicit signal on the issue for the first time, the US Assistant Secretary of State Paula DeSutter said Russia's withdrawal from the Dniester River region was a precondition for the US ratification of the Adaptation Agreement on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty).

The US official, in charge of arms control, made the remarks after she held talks with Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin during her two-day visit to the country starting from Thursday.

DeSutter said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sided with Washington on the issue.

The Adaptation Agreement on the CFE Treaty was passed at the sixth Summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul, Turkey in November 1999.

It was designed to further reduce the number of warplanes, tanks and other heavy non-nuclear weapons in Europe and enhance weapons verification measures.

NATO has not ratified the agreement, which has drawn criticism from Russia.

During their talks, Voronin expressed his concerns about Russia's failure to withdraw from the east bank of the Dniester River, stressing that only after Russia honored its promise, could Moldova ratify the adaptation agreement on the CFE Treaty.

Russia indicated at the 1999 OSCE summit that it would withdraw troops and weapons from the east bank.

An international conference will be held from May 29 to June 2 in Vienna, Austria, with the adaptation agreement on the CFE Treaty top on the agenda.

Russia has deployed 1,500 troops and weapons on the east bank of the Dniester River, and Moldova has repeatedly demanded their withdrawal.

Moldova and the Trans-Dniester region, which broke away from Moldova in 1992, have conducted on-and-off negotiations on the region's status.

(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2006)