Fiodor Ghelici, the head of the public association “Moldova mea”, considers the ban imposed by Russia on the transportation of Moldovan goods through Ukraine and then its lifting form part of an agreement reached by President Igor Dodon and the administration of the Russian Federation. According to him, all these actions are part of a plan designed to improve the Party of Socialists’ rating before the elections and Igor Dodon’s image The activist said Russia interferes in the election campaign in Moldova by exerting economic pressure, suggesting thus indirectly to the electors who to vote for.
In a news conference at IPN, Fiodor Ghelici said that being an Ukrainian ethnic who speaks Russian, he respects a lot the Russian people, but is extremely dissatisfied with the policy pursued by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. At the end of last December, the Russian authorities banned the import into Russia of goods from Ukraine and of goods that transited Ukraine. As a result, the Moldovan business entities that export products to Russia via Ukraine after January 1, 2019 experienced a blockage. To honor their contractual obligations, some of them had to cover additional costs to reach Russia, bypassing Ukraine.
Recently, after the visit paid by President Igor Dodon to Russia, the bans were lifted. Fiodor Ghelici considers such an economic action against Moldova was planned by Igor Dodon so that he could emerge victorious before the elections. “After our Moldovans stayed at the Ukrainian-Russian border for a month, he pretended to be going to Russia to come to terms with Putin. Please, don’t exert pressure on our voters and don’t blackmail us,” stated the activist, addressing President Dodon.
The activist also said the Moldovans endured for years the dispossessions of land, the interference in the Transnistrian region as they are tolerant. But the business entities started to orient to the European market as the Russian Federation is no longer a reliable partner. The young people who earlier worked in the Russian Federation leave to the EU and the U.S. as they saw a better life there.
