MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Moldovan President Igor Dodon expects to sign the bill on raising the status of the Russian language in his country before president-elect Maia Sandu takes office, the outgoing Moldovan leader told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"It is of principle importance for us to have those bills adopted in the second reading before the new president’s inauguration, so that I could sign them. It seems to me, that the next president won’t sign those bills," Dodon said.

According to the outgoing president, at least one third of the Moldovan population are Russian speakers and practically every citizen speaks Russian fluently.

On December 3, the Moldovan parliament approved in the first reading draft bills on raising the status of the Russian language in the country, lifting the ban on Russian TV broadcasts, and strengthening the status of Moldova’s autonomous region of Gagauzia.

The bill on Russian language vests it with the status of the language of inter-ethnic communication. If the law is adopted, governmental officials will be obliged to give their written responses in Russian, if requested. This provision will be of particular importance for Russian speakers in Moldova, who are obliged to pay to translators during litigation in court.