MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. The Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament, or "senate") is ready to facilitate efforts to assist the leadership of Gagauzia to strengthen and expand the autonomous Moldovan region’s ties with Russia, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said at a meeting with Gaugazia Governor Eugenia Gutul.
"There is an autonomous territorial unit, Gagauzia, which cares about its citizens, which wants to develop, which wants to improve the welfare of its citizens. And if the leaders of Gagauzia are willing to cooperate in this way, we, as the chamber of regions (the house of Russia’s parliament where all 89 regions have equal representation with two senators each - TASS), will provide all possible assistance [to] strengthen and expand our ties. And no one can prohibit either us or you [from doing so]," the speaker said.
She added that bilateral agreements have been concluded between certain Russian constituent regions and Gagauzia, which "can and should be implemented with the assistance and support of the chamber of regions." Matviyenko emphasized that the development of interregional cooperation is a traditional priority for the Federation Council. "We have promoted the expansion of ties between our regions and Gagauzia. As of today, ten Russian constituent regions have signed agreements with Gagauzia," the speaker said, naming the City of St. Petersburg and the Republic of Tatarstan as the most active Russian regions in this regard.
According to her, this contributes not only to building up mutual trade flows, but also to the strengthening of humanitarian ties across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations. "Thank you, Eugenia Alexandrovna, that you are determined to continue mutually beneficial cooperation, interaction. It seems to me that this is the right pragmatic approach, when the head of Gagauzia cares about the development of the economy. If the economy does not develop, new markets will not open, there will be no social protection for citizens. This is a balanced, pragmatic course, which we support and for which we are ready to provide all possible assistance," Matviyenko concluded.