the Conference could recognize Ukrainian demands in Hotin County. As noted by Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Popenko: "From the very first days of the conference, Romanian diplomats had been active in arguing that the Khotyn Uprising was an attempt by the Bolsheviks to destabilize the country and spread its ideology further into Europe. Against the background of anti-Bolshevik sentiments among the major states, such an 'interpretation' of events was an extremely successful diplomatic and propaganda step." Popenko also notes that this approach came to be favored by the Allied intervention forces in Russia, who advised the UNR to settle its border issues with Romania, viewing the latter as the "final bulwark against Bolshevism". VSYuR and Zakordot Zhurari sealed a pact with the Red Army and was allowed to leave Tiraspol unharmed; some of his men returned to Bessarabia, while others were admitted into the Red Army. Both groups may have played a part in the Bolshevik attempt to seize Tighina, on May 27, 1919 (see Bender Uprising). Whites, unlike communists, were generally spared by the Romanian Army, but the authorities still intervened when, in June, a Polkovnik Gagauz was caught preaching revolution to the inhabitants of Comrat. Such agitation largely ceased in June, when the Romanian government allowed N. N. Kozlov and A. A. Gepetskiy to recruit Bessarabian White officers for service in the Armed Forces of South Russia (VSYuR), which secured a base in Odessa and pushed Antonov's forces out of the region. Various members of the Salvation Committee proposed to Anton Denikin that they stage instead a takeover of Bessarabia, and Denikin promised to assist them after first "finish[ing] off" the UNR. In August, Konstantyn A. Matsevych, who served as UNR diplomatic representative in Romania, made a futile effort to reconcile the Directorate with Denikin. While acting as head of the VSYuR counterintelligence in Odessa, Gepetskiy permitted Bolsheviks to assemble, despite Denikin's large-scale offensive into Russia. As Șornikov notes, he still prioritized the Bessarabian takeover ahead of all other issues, and effectively had a truce with communist partisans. The All-Russian National Center, functioning in the White-held city on Rostov-on-Don, maintained a claim to both Bessarabia and the Ukraine, accusing Romania and the UNR of colluding with each other to partition the area. Also working under Denikin's watch, N. A. Zelenetskiy began forming the 14th Infantry Division and 14th Artillery Brigade, specifically for the recovery of Bessarabia. Denikin's successes also