CHISINAU, January 21. /TASS/. Tens of thousands of Moldovan nationals who violated Russia’s migration rules will be able to use the so-called migration amnesty, Moldovan President Igor Dodon said on Monday.

"I think several tens of thousands people will use this possibility to go home to have the sanctions lifted," he said in an interview with the NTV Moldova television channel. "People are very interested in this possibility."

After the two countries’ presidents, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Igor Dodon of Moldova, reached a relevant agreement, Russia’s Interior Ministry on December 3, 2018 announced the so-called migration amnesty for Moldovan citizens who violated the terms of sojourn in Russia. It came into force from January 1, 2019 and will stay in effect until February 24.

According to Dodon, about 500,000 Moldovan labor migrants are currently staying in Russia.