Nicu Popescu to Meet with Sergey Lavrov in Moscow

Moldova’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu will arrive in Moscow on Tuesday as part of a two-day visit scheduled for November 16-17. During the visit, the official will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The program of the meeting provides for negotiations of ministers who will consider current issues of bilateral cooperation with an emphasis on the topic of interaction between the foreign ministries of our countries, noi.md reports. The parties will pay special attention to cooperation within the framework of key international organizations, primarily in the UN, as well as regional integration formats, including the CIS, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. This visit was planned even before the onset of the energy crisis in Chisinau caused by the Russian concern Gazprom. Later, during the negotiations between Gazprom and the Chisinau authorities on the contract for the Russian gas supply, one of the hot topics was Transdniestria’s debt to Gazprom. A decision was then made to shift the issue to the intergovernmental level. Another subject of dispute between the parties is another debt to Gazprom - the debt of the right bank of the Dniester, for which Chisinau requested an external audit. It should also be noted that after the former diplomat Vladimir Golovatiuc was recalled from his post following the scandal, Moldova does not have an ambassador in Moscow. Point