Dodon Held Online Talks with Putin. What Will Russia Give Us

On September 28, President Igor Dodon spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin via videoconference. Putin said that Russia will provide Moldovan farmers with fuel worth € 5.4 million, the Kremlin’s press service reported. Putin said at a meeting with Dodon that Russia would first supply fuel for half of this humanitarian aid. “At your request, we have allocated the required funds, up to a total of half a billion rubles (€ 5.4 million), as humanitarian aid with a view to supplying the hardest hit companies with diesel fuel, as you asked us. The first tranche for half of this amount is ready to go. We expect you, Igor Nikolayevich, to send us a list of companies that need this support in the first place.” The Russian President recalled also that Russia, at the request of Dodon, supplied Moldova with 15,000 test kits, and expressed readiness to cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic. In turn, Dodon “confirmed the Moldovan side’s interest in supplies of the Russian anti-coronavirus vaccine after it passes all stages of testing and receives authorization from the World Health Organization.” The Russian President also wished Dodon success in the elections, noting that thanks to his efforts, the Moldovan-Russian relations began to improve. “Igor Nikolayevich, we will mark the twentieth anniversary of the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation this December. I must admit that these years in Russia-Moldova relations were not easy. But owing to your efforts, we have been improving these relations recently in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Treaty that I have just recalled. I hope that after the presidential elections, that are due to take place literally in a month (by the way, I would like to wish you success at these elections), we will manage to continue the work you have started on restoring and developing our interstate ties,” Putin said. Dodon also said on Facebook that the receipt of a € 200 million Russian loan was also raised during the discussion with Putin. In addition, Dodon asked to allow Moldovan students studying in Russia to go there to study. “In the same context, I asked the President of Russia to consider the possibility of resuming aviation and railway communication between our countries. We came to an agreement that a telephone conversation between the prime ministers of our countries will take place on all these agreements in the coming days,” Dodon said.