CHISINAU, October 10. /TASS/. Stepping up economic cooperation with Moldova and Transnistrian settlements will be in the focus of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin’s visit to Modlova. The Russian Embassy told TASS that Rogozin arrived in Chisinau late in the evening on Monday, where he will discuss the agenda for the session of the inter-governmental commission on trade and economic cooperation with Moldovan Economy Minister Octavian Calmac. The commission is scheduled to convene in Moscow in November.
"The deputy prime ministers of the two countries that co-chair the inter-governmental commission, plan to resolve the disagreements that emerged after Chisinau signed an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014. It includes the position on creating a free trade zone, because of which Russia imposed customs duties on several Moldovan goods as Moscow is cautious about the possible re-export of European goods," the embassy explained. The Moldovan government that faces a deep economic crisis, has been unable to re-orient its export at the EU and asked Russia to lift the restrictions.
The embassy said that on Tuesday morning, Rogozin plans to visit Transnistria to assess the social-economic situation in the region which has been going through some hard times since the start of the Ukrainian crisis. A large-scale humanitarian project on constructing schools, kindergartens and hospitals is being carried out in the region under Rogozin’s curatorship.
Last week, a presidential election campaign was launched in Transnistira. Incumbent president Yevgeny Shevchuk and chairman of the Supreme Council Vadim Krasnoselsky are the main contenders for the post. They both stand for Transnistria’s integration with Russia, but see the matter at hand differently and stand in acute disagreement. According to informed sources, Rogozin will hold separate meetings with them and try to ease tensions in order to ensure a calm election campaign.