Gherman Gref: Russians will celebrate the New Year drinking Moldovan wines

Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade Gherman Gref, visiting Moldova for the first time, stated Tuesday that the Russians will celebrate the New Year drinking sparkling wines made by Cricova and other Moldovan wineries. Referring to his visit to Cricova, Gherman Gref said it is a great honour for him to visit this world famous wine company, particularly appreciated in Russia. Asked whether he is not worried about his health when tasting Moldovan wines, Gherman Gref said he has nothing to worry about, especially when he sees how healthy his Moldova counterpart Igor Dodon is. He said that the wine export resumption issue has seen a positive dynamic lately, and hopes that as soon as all the technical problems are done away with, the Moldovan wine production will be back to the Russian market. “The Russians have always consumed and appreciated the Moldovan wines”, Gref pointed out. In connection with the discussions he had with the Moldovan officials, the Russian minister specified that neither of the issues between Moldova and Russia is stagnating. “We do have issues, but they are advancing… Problems have accumulated over the years, and that is why, regretfully, they can not be solved overnight”, Gref said. He expressed his hope that in a year and a half the latest the largest part of the problems in the Moldova-Russia relations will be solved. Moldovan Minister of Economy and Trade Igor Dodon stated that the purpose of Gherman Gref’s visit to Chisinau was not to discuss some concrete projects, but to inform the Russian side about the progress in achieving the tasks that had been previously agreed at bilateral level in the area of economy; about the undertaken reforms, in particular the tax amnesty and the zero-rate tax; establishment of industrial parks, of free trade zones and of logistics centres. Dodon said he is positive that after this visit the cooperation between the two ministries will gather momentum. Referring to the situation in which Moldova finds itself after the drought, Gherman Gref stated that Russia is ready to provide assistance to Moldova. According to him, the aid could take the form of grain and oil products. He specified that a group of Russian experts will visit Moldova soon to negotiate the amount and ways of providing assistance.