Dodon, Putin agree on Moldovan goods' supplies to Russia via Ukraine
CHISINAU. Jan 30 (Interfax) - Moldovan President Igor Dodon said he has agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on shipping Moldovan goods to Russia via Ukraine, which should considerably increase bilateral trade.
"An arrangement with Vladimir Putin - at the request of the president of Moldova - as of today all Moldovan goods can be exported to the Russian market via Ukraine. As well as Russia's lifting of customs duties on Moldovan goods, these decisions will help considerably increase trade between our countries within a short period of time," Dodon wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday evening, commenting on the results of his meeting with the Russian president.
He did not give further details, saying only that the two discussed trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation between their countries.
"Summarizing the results of the two years' cooperation at the level of heads of state, we noted that today there is a favorable ground for taking Moldovan-Russian relations to a qualitatively new level in the current year. We reaffirmed our readiness to make joint efforts for the implementation of that ambitious trade, economic and investment program which was adopted at the Moldovan-Russian economic forum in September 2018. In the framework of humanitarian cooperation, we discussed a number of events to take place in Moldova and Russia as part of the declared cross-year of Moldova and Russia in 2019," Dodon said.
He informed Putin of progress on the amnesty for Moldovan citizens under Articles 26 and 27 of the Russian immigration laws.
"Already thousands of Moldovan citizens - and their number is growing every day - have taken advantage of the decision by the relevant Russian Federation authorities. Separately, I thanked Vladimir Putin for having provided technical assistance in the form of special transport vehicles of the KAMAZ brand, which should arrive in Moldova in the coming days," Dodon said.
The two presidents also "touched in detail on the discussion of the situation in Transdniestria," he said.
"We reaffirmed our firm position that a final settlement of the Transdniestrian problem can only be achieved in full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova and its internationally-recognized borders. I told of the agreements reached in the framework of dialogue with Transdniestria's leadership to allow Moldovan citizens living in the region to participate freely in Moldovan parliamentary elections with no restrictions and impediments," Dodon said.
He told Putin that he decided not to take part in the pre-election race.
"This is down to the desire to keep the country's state institutions running during and after the elections and help electoral competitors in order to ensure that the parliamentary elections are held correctly and democratically. In this context, I appealed to leading international organizations, including the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe], the Council of Europe and the CIS, for them to increase the number of their observers, which should facilitate the conduct of free and fair parliamentary elections in Moldova in accordance with international standards," Dodon said.
"The elections will be followed by the creation of a government whose priorities will include restoring mutually beneficial cooperation and strategic partnership with the Russian Federation," he said.
"As president of the Republic of Moldova, I noted then that the best prospect for Moldova is to pursue a well-balanced foreign policy. In this context, we agreed to continue cooperation within the CIS and the EAEU [Eurasian Economic Union]. In the framework of international cooperation, we discussed a number of steps which would help realize the idea of a 'Big Package' for Moldova," Dodon said.