Russia has removed all Soviet-built anti-aircraft missiles from its vast arms depots in a Moldova province

Russia has removed all Soviet-built anti-aircraft missiles from its vast arms depots in a Moldova province to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists, officials said Monday. The missiles were flown from Trans-Dniester Province to the Moscow on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement released Monday. A spokesman for the ministry, who asked not be named, wouldn't say how many weapons were evacuated, but he said that no anti-aircraft missiles are left in Trans-Dniester. The Defense Ministry said in the statement that it had decided to remove the weapons to "minimize the potential danger of terrorists seizing the portable and other air defense missiles and using them for terror goals." About 2,000 Russian troops remain in Trans-Dniester, guarding giant Soviet-era ammunition depots and acting as peacekeepers. The Russian military was deployed in the separatist province to end a 1992 war that killed some 1,500 people and left Trans-Dniester de-facto independent. Russia had earlier promised the Organization for Security and Cooperation (news - web sites) in Europe that it would withdraw the troops and ammunition by the end of this year, but later said it would be difficult to fulfill this obligation. It has since put forward a plan to extend its troops' presence in the region. Claus Neukirch, the OSCE spokesman in the Moldovan capital Chisinau, said Monday that the Russian authorities hadn't given OSCE officials authorization to inspect the cargo planes. The OSCE and other international agencies have repeatedly expressed concern about allegations that Trans-Dniester has evolved into a center for major weapon smuggling rings.