CHISINAU, November 16. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov said on Monday he plans to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation with Moldova’s President Elect Maia Sandu.
"Our country is ready to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with Moldova. It has already been said by the Russian leaders. We hope for the constructive development of bilateral relations. It will be in the interests of Russia’s and Moldova’s peoples. And during my upcoming contact with Mrs Sandu, I plan to discuss parameters of such cooperation," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel after Moldova’s Central Election Commission had finished to count votes at Sunday’s runoff presidential polls.
He recalled that Sandu, who had won the runoff election, had been congratulated by many world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had sent a congratulatory telegram. "I will hand it over to Maia Sandu soon," the Russian diplomat said.
Sandu told TASS earlier she planned to meet with the Russian diplomat later this week.
Moldova held the runoff presidential election on November 15. According to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission, Sandu won 57.7% of vote whereas incumbent President Igor Dodon scored 42.2%
Sandu has already said as a president she is interested in good relations with Moscow. She noted the fact that many Moldovan nationals were working in Russia and they needed good conditions of their sojourn in Russia. She also said that she planned to tackle the problem of Moldovan exports to Russia and sign an agreement on retirement benefits. Apart from that, in her words, a serious, systemic dialogue was needed to settle the Transnistrian conflict.