Russian officials promise to solve existent problems in relations with Moldova

The minister of Economic Development and Commerce of the Russian Federation, Gherman Greff, expressed his willingness to participate personally in the process of clarifying and solving problems which exist in the trade and economic relations between two countries and pleaded for organization of a work meeting in Moscow, in December this year, in which experts from different governmental institutions of both states would participate. The statement was made public within the frameworks of an official meeting with the minister of Economy and Commerce, Igor Dodon, which took place in Moscow, in the period in which the session of the Moldovan-Russian Joint commission on economic collaboration was held. The debates were focused on the topic of interdictions on agricultural, food, and alcoholic products imports introduced by the Russian Federation, which resulted in a 75% decrease of the R. of Moldova’s exports compared to 2004. According to a press release of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Greff declared that the economies of the two states are complementary, this being the reason why there is a need of a permanent dialogue in order to solve the present problems. He accepted the Chisinau’s invitation to pay an official visit in February 2007. According to the same communiqué, the Moldovan part insisted upon the necessity of signing the protocol on collecting indirect taxes on the principle of the destination state and re-launching the exports of alcoholic beverages on the Russian market, as terms for signing by the R. of Moldova of the Protocol on Russia’s Accession to the World Trade Organization. This was the single press release disseminated by Moldovan officials on the session of the Moldovan-Russian commission in Moscow. The source doesn’t mention whether Moscow would have signed any bilateral documents, although earlier, officials gave to understand that within the frameworks of the meeting, agreements concerning natural gas and Moldovan wine exports were to be signed.