The Moldovan government believes it is necessary to continue dialogue with Russia and does not consider joining international sanctions against it, Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said in commenting on suggestions by a number of experts and parliamentarians that Moldova should join the EU sanctions.
“The government is not considering this issue,” Leanca said in taking questions from journalists following a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin on Friday evening, Aug. 22.
“I am responsible for the government’s work and can say that the government proceeds from the need to continue dialogue and cooperation with the Russian Federation,” Leanca said.
He said the two had not discussed Russian gas supplies to Moldova.
“I don’t share concerns that Moldova could be left without gas because of the conflict in Ukraine. I don’t think it would go that far, because this problem would affect a lot of European countries. Again, I think they won’t allow this. But if we presume hypothetically that something of the sort could happen, we have reserve options,” Leanca said.
Moldova’s contract with Gazprom, which will expire at the end of the year, will be discussed in the fall, Leanca said. “I don’t see any problem if no new contract is signed and the old one is extended, as it happened in the previous years,” he said.
Leanca said Rogozin and he had exchanged opinions on the settlement of the Transdniestria conflict. Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Eugen Carpov was prepared to travel to Moscow to discuss the matter.
He denied allegations that Moldova had signed the association agreement with the European Union without Transdniestria’s opinion taken into account.
“This is not so. Not only have we informed Transdniestrian representatives and invited them to discuss the agreement, but we also organized their training. For instance, a group of experts from Transdniestria led by [Transdniestrian Foreign Minister] Nina Stanschi traveled to Stockholm for a week to study details of the association agreement and see how it would work,” Leanca said.
He said also that Rogozin and he had discussed the issue of Moldovan migrant workers in Russia.
“Certain rumors and anxiety existing among these people, I mean migrant and seasonal workers, cause our concerns. I highly appreciate Dmitry Rogozin’s statements that the Russian authorities won’t allow a discriminatory approach toward our citizens working in Russia,” he said.
Three Moldovan-Russian agreements regulating the rights of migrant workers are undergoing clearance at the moment, Leanca said, adding that he would prefer to see these documents signed as soon as possible.
Rogozin arrived in Chisinau on Aug.21 and met with Co-Chair of the Russian-Moldovan intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation and Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrian Candu. On Friday, Rogozin traveled to Tiraspol to take part in ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Jassy-Kishinev (Iasi-Chisinau) Offensive during WWII. The same day, he met with Leanca in Chisinau. The Moldovan prime minister later described the meeting as “extremely useful and constructive.”
