Dodon: Hope that Russia Will Show Wisdom and Help Our People

The incumbent president, in The Main Question program with Julia Fedorova on NTV, commented on Maia Sandu’s statement on the Transdniestrian settlement, and expressed his vision of further relations between Moldova and Russia. “I really hope that the Russian Federation, as it has been more than once over the last four years, will show wisdom and provide further aid to the Moldovan people. Two or three years ago, when Plahotniuc declared the then Russian Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin persona non grata, it was difficult but still I managed to convince partners from Russia not to restrict supplies of our goods, though I was the President of the Republic of Moldova without powers, since the government and parliament were under Plahotniuc. We retained export of fruits, vegetables, and wine. In 2014-15, the short-sighted policy of the government under the Alliance for European Integration resulted in the situation when apples on the trees froze in the north of Moldova,” Dodon said, enews.md reports. Dodon claims that many people ask him what will happen next. “Over the past 4 years, huge funds have been invested in agriculture, several thousand hectares of new gardens have been planted, several hundred powerful refrigerators have been bought. These investments are targeted at the Russian market. People ask me if I can come to an agreement with Putin not to shut us down? This is one of the points that I will discuss in December,” the President stressed. “But Peskov said that your meeting is not on Putin’s schedule,” the journalist noted. “Not necessarily with him. Let’s talk with Kozak. Before my mandate expires, we will have a meeting with the leaders of the CIS countries on December 21, I confirmed my participation. On December 11-12, the meeting of the EurAsEC leaders will take place. We have observer status. There will be an opportunity to communicate with partners. I will do my best to keep the relationship going. Otherwise, we will have very serious problems,” Dodon said. The incumbent president thinks there is a chance to keep the government. “Regardless of what Maia Sandu says, we will keep this government, which is aimed at strategic partnership with both the East and the West. This will allow us to continue a good dialogue with the Russian Federation,” Dodon said.