Chicu: Russian Loan May not Arrive, Moscow Gives No Response

Prime Minister Ion Chicu said that the loan promised by the Russian Federation may not be received, since Moscow has not given any answer on this issue since September. Chicu said that he had submitted to the Russian Prime Minister “a draft agreement excluding articles declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court,” cotidianul.md reports. “Since September, we have not received a response from the Russian Government regarding whether it will accept the agreement in this format. We are waiting for the reaction of the Russian Federation, but I do not rule out that we will not receive this money,” Chicu said, noting that Moldova will have problems if the loan fails. Prime Minister Chicu first reported the Russian loan during his visit to Russia in late 2019. The then-announced amount was $ 500 million. Subsequently, it was reduced to 200 million euros, and an agreement was signed between the governments of the two countries, which was voted for in parliament. However, the Constitutional Court declared the agreement unconstitutional, since it contained certain provisions that could affect the national economic interests of the Republic of Moldova.