Sandu calls for looking for new markets to sell Moldovan products amid Russian import ban

CHISINAU. Aug 18 (Interfax) - Moldovan President Maia Sandu has called on diplomats to look for new markets for selling Moldovan products and to step up efforts to resolve the energy crisis.

"It is necessary to develop economic diplomacy: promote exports, and find new markets for selling Moldovan products, especially agricultural products. It is necessary to find stable markets that value quality and are not guided by political or some other criteria," Sandu said on Thursday, opening her annual meeting with Moldovan ambassadors abroad.

She also called on diplomats "to intensify their efforts to overcome crises that Moldova has been encountering by force of circumstances."

"First and foremost, these are energy issues. There is a need to find new sources of energy supplies and keep short-term and long-term goals in focus. We all need to find investors and pursue projects to ensure energy security both in the short term and in the long term," Sandu said.

On August 9, Yulia Melano, advisor to the head of Rosselkhoznadzor, told reporters that Russia's watchdog is banning imports of crop farming products from 31 districts of Moldova, as well as the autonomous region of Gagauzia and the municipalities of Chisinau and Balti starting from August 15. She said Rosselkhoznadzor was forced to impose the restrictions because it repeatedly found dangerous objects subject to quarantine in Moldovan products imported into Russia.

Moldovan authorities believe that Rosselkhoznadzor's decision was made for political reasons. The Moldovan Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry said it "has not received any complaints from Rosselkhoznadzor regarding the quality of crop products." The Russian regulator dismissed Chisinau's allegations about the politically motivated decision.

This year, the traditional annual meeting of Moldova's ambassadors is taking place on August 18-19.