In a month of his resignation, Vlad Kulminski provided details about his resignation from the post of Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration. He said his resignation was determined by the birth of his child and by the state of health of his wife. He denied the idea of dissensions inside the governmental team as a result of negotiations with Gazprom and of the signing of the contract for the supply of gas. Kulminski noted he attended the discussions held in the Russian Federation because he is a professional negotiator, IPN reports.
Vlad Kulminski quit as Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration at the start of November, shortly after the signing of a five-year contract with Gazprom was announced, invoking family reasons.
“My resignation didn’t follow only the birth of my child. But I resigned strictly for personal reasons and this didn’t happen suddenly. I discussed my resignation with the Prime Minister, with the President and with the Parliament Speaker. This wasn’t a surprise for the senior state officials. Acting like this would have been irresponsibility. Everything was coordinated. My wife suffered complications after giving birth and I wasn’t near. These problems continue and I have to be near. The post of Deputy Prime Minister implies round-the-clock presence during seven days a week. There is no conspiracy theory,” Vlad Kulminski stated in the program “Black Box” on TV8 channel.
He admitted that there are differing opinions inside the Cabinet, but these didn’t influence his leaving. He said the result of the talks held with Gazprom is appropriate for Moldova given the conditions existing on the international market.
“The presence of tensions inside a team is something normal and healthy as any team implies competition and this means movement and progress. There were opposing opinions on all the issues as the previous Government chose to put off all the faced crises, while the current Government preferred to address them. Why did I go to the talks with Gazprom? It’s simple. I’m a professional negotiator and our relationship with the Russian Federation does not refer to natural gas only. However, the talks centered strictly on the gas supply and gas price. The talks were harsh as accepting a price of US$1,000 minus 25% for October would have meant the same price throughout the year,” stated Vlad Kulminski.
Vlad Kulminski was named Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration on August 6. A month after his resignation, the post of head of the Reintegration Policies Bureau remains vacant. Earlier, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița said they have discussions with a number of persons with experience in the field so as to identify a new Deputy Prime Minister.
