The President of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon, said that he had agreed with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, that this year, the price for natural gas will not be increased, while it would be reduced next year. The discussions were held during a one-day official working visit to Moscow, on Saturday, September 7.
"We have reached an agreement in principle and coordinated the next steps regarding gas supply collaboration, which already allows us to state that tariffs for the consumers will not increase. Starting October 1, the price of Russian gas supplied to Moldova will decrease", Igor Dodon wrote on Facebook.
The head of state added that he expressed gratitude to the Russian Federation leadership for extending the import regime without customs duties for five categories of Moldovan goods from the agro-industrial sector. "Due to this fact, in recent months, the volume of products exported from our country has increased significantly", the president claimed.
According to Igor Dodon, during the meeting, several issues related to the internal and foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova were examined. According to the president, "the consensus of the foreign political forces in relation to Moldova offers great opportunities for the development of the country, as well as for the full implementation of a balanced foreign policy strategy, based on maintaining and strengthening the constitutional status of permanent neutrality".
Referring to the Transnistrian settlement, Igor Dodon told the Kremlin leader about the need to combine the efforts of all participants in the "5 + 2" negotiation process in order to identify an effective political model which respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the internationally recognized borders of the Republic of Moldova.