"The delegation of the Party of Socialists of Moldova will participate in the SPIEF"
The lack of dialogue between the top officials of Moldova and Russia has sent relations between the parties to the lowest level in the last 30 years, former President of the republic, leader of the Party of Socialists Igor Dodon told Izvestia. Chisinau adheres to a pro-Western course. At the same time, in recent weeks, all the top officials of Moldova have directly interfered in the elections in Romania, which, in their opinion, will allow them to get the votes of the diaspora in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The Party of Socialists maintains contacts with the Moldovan opposition. Such cooperation will be able to contribute to obtaining a parliamentary majority and limit the power of the current President, Maia Sandu. About the repetition of the Ukrainian scenario in Moldova, the Transnistrian issue and contacts with Moscow — in Igor Dodon's exclusive interview with Izvestia.
"In recent weeks, all top officials of Moldova have directly interfered in the elections in Romania"
— Earlier you stated that Maia Sandu's interference in the election campaign in Romania was a mistake and caused a natural reaction from the Romanian society. Why do you think the voting results were so important to Chisinau?
— The results of the elections in Romania have clearly shown that the new trend of politicians and parties who are determined to strengthen their sovereign position and defend national interests is gaining more and more support in this country. I think that, in principle, they won this election. And it's completely unclear to me why they recognized the results of the vote.
Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan defeated the leader of the opposition Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR) party, George Simion, in the second round, who won just over 46% of the vote. Initially, Simion announced his victory in the election, despite the fact that the published exit polls showed his defeat. He later admitted his loss, but on May 20 announced his intention to challenge the results of the second round.
In recent weeks, all the top officials of Moldova have intervened directly in the elections in Romania. Apart from the fact that there was a lift on election day and all three days when the diaspora could vote, the top officials openly campaigned for one candidate and criticized the other. I believe that this should absolutely not be allowed.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu
These elections have shown a deep split in Romania and that the protest mood of those who are determined to defend national interests is growing.
For Maia Sandu and for the current Moldovan government, this vote was very important. In the presidential elections last year, our citizens who live in Romania voted quite actively. At that time, several tens of thousands of Moldovans in this country voted for Maya Sandu.
Parliamentary elections will be held this year. It is important for the current Moldovan regime to keep loyal friends in power in Romania. But there are very serious economic problems there. I think it will be difficult for them to form a new government in the near future, adopt a budget, and stop price increases. I think we may see early parliamentary elections there in the near future. And we will see how much this will help Maya Sandu in the parliamentary elections in the fall.
— Are there any prerequisites for the ruling Action and Solidarity (PAS) party to win a parliamentary majority in the upcoming parliamentary elections?
Parliamentary elections in Moldova
— The ruling party has no chance of winning a parliamentary majority. The situation is worse than last year, when Maia Sandu received 42% in the first round. Now the rates of protest voting against the current government are much higher than last year, according to all polls, more than 70%. Therefore, the opposition as a whole, if we are talking about the center-left, centrist, will have the opportunity to form a majority in the next parliament. And we will strive for this.
— Earlier, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) decided to sell Romania the right to manage the port of Giurgiulesti on the Danube. What are the chances that Moldova will remain landlocked?
— Unfortunately, this issue is very acute now. We built this port when we were in power. Now it is private, for sale, and the Romanian side is very interested in it, and not a private investor, but the state. I think there is a risk that Giurgiulesti may be stopped in order to give more volume to its ports. Unfortunately, the current Moldovan authorities have no interest in it, but in the autumn we hope that there will be another government and we will definitely return to this issue.
The port of Giurgiulesti is located at the confluence of the Prut and Danube rivers. It was built after the exchange of territories with Ukraine, when Chisinau received 430 meters of coast, and Kiev received a section of road near the border village of Palanka. It is the only port in Moldova with access to the Black Sea. In 2021, the EBRD bought out the entire capital of the company that operated the port.
"The next government should return to direct negotiations with Russia"
— How do you assess the current Russian-American dialogue? What should be the position of official Chisinau on the Ukrainian crisis?
— I think that the negotiations between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States are very important. The war in Ukraine must stop. We do not understand the position of the Moldovan leadership, which corresponds to the opinion of European officials: they say that it is necessary to continue the war.
Everything that has happened in Ukraine in recent years should be a lesson for us. Unfortunately, the current Moldovan government repeats the same mistakes.
It is necessary to adhere to neutrality. Russia and America will eventually come to an agreement. And what are the Ukrainians left with? With hundreds of thousands of deaths. You need to be friends with your neighbors. It is not necessary to give up your identity, to use faith, the Orthodox Church in order to divide the people. What was done in Ukraine, Maia Sandu is trying to do in Moldova: she divides the church into the Metropolia of Moldavia and Bessarabia. We state that the current Moldovan authorities have not learned their lessons. They are playing geopolitical games that do not correspond to the national interests of our country and the interests of our citizens.
— Are you planning any visits to Moscow in the near future?
— We have received an invitation to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. The delegation of the Party of Socialists will participate, and I will go too. Several important meetings with representatives of the Russian authorities and business are planned on the sidelines of the forum.
— In the context of Moldova's turn to the West, how important is the participation of politicians and businesses from this republic in the SPIEF?
— For the first time in decades of Moldovan-Russian relations, we have not had top-level contacts in the last four years. Neither in a bilateral nor in a multilateral format. This has lowered the level of our bilateral relations to the lowest level in more than 30 years of our independence. This gap needs to be filled with something, so we need someone to communicate with our Russian colleagues. We are trying to fill the lack of dialogue with contacts between the opposition and representatives of the State Duma, the Federation Council, and representatives of local authorities and regions of the Russian Federation. Just a week ago, we were also in Russia, meeting with colleagues from the Federation Council and the State Duma.
Our countries and peoples want to be friends. Therefore, following the interests of Moldova and its citizens, we will continue to communicate with our Russian partners.
— Chisinau blocked gas supplies to Transnistria during the winter period. Currently, the economic crisis persists in the unrecognized republic due to the downtime of enterprises and the blocking of exports from Chisinau. Are there any prerequisites for a change in the situation in the next heating season?
— Over the past few years, for the first time since the end of my term as president, there have been no official contacts at the level of the leader of Pridnestrovie and the leadership of Moldova. Although Vadim Krasnoselsky has repeatedly come up with this initiative.
What happened this winter is not the first time that Transnistria has been blockaded. Last year, the year before last, there was an economic blockade. New customs duties were introduced, and problems were created for the supply of some humanitarian supplies, even medicines. This year, the authorities tried to use the gas problem to make [the authorities] in Transnistria give up their positions.
Russia has helped here. The humanitarian gas that Transnistria received saved a lot of lives. But for a whole month Chisinau blocked the supply of this gas. To date, the problem has not been systematically solved. A minimum amount of gas is supplied in order to ensure the vital activity of some sectors, healthcare, but this does not allow the economy to develop.
The Moldovan authorities should return to dialogue with Transnistria, without hindering the supply of gas in the required volumes. We believe that this gas should be Russian. Therefore, after the parliamentary elections on September 28, the next government should return to direct negotiations with Russia and agree on energy supplies for the right and left banks. Transnistria is a part of Moldova, so we need to solve the problem systematically for all citizens of our country.
— What is the situation with the export of goods from Pridnestrovian enterprises?
— There is a problem with production in Transnistria, because a lot of enterprises in the region are energy-intensive. And if we are talking about MMZ (Moldavian Metallurgical Plant. — Ed.), which formed the export structure, then enterprises cannot operate without gas. Production has dropped a lot. Without it, there are no jobs and budget revenues. Therefore, the issue of exports is very acute, it needs to be addressed.
"We have contacts with other opposition forces"
— Earlier, the Moldovan authorities increased pressure on the opposition. Have members of your party and you personally faced pressure and how did it manifest itself?
— The consideration of cases continues. I have two court sessions every week on my criminal cases. In addition, there are more than 10 more who are at the stage of criminal prosecution.
The cases are also open to all leaders and top officials of the Party of Socialists. Our deputies were repeatedly stopped at the airport. This is an attempt to pressure us to change our position, but we will not do this.
— Does your party currently maintain contact with the Pobeda Bloc and are you considering cooperation ahead of the parliamentary elections?
— We communicate with all opposition parties. For example, we held a very important event on May 9th. For the first time in many years, all the opposition parties marched in a single column.
As for the next parliamentary elections, it is necessary to make a decision that will ensure, on the one hand, minimizing the risks so that the parties are not eliminated from the elections, on the other hand, maximizing the result for the center-left parties. The potential of the center—left parties is 45-50%.
If we work properly, there is a possibility that the center-left parties would take full power in our country. Then Maya Sandu will have practically no powers.
— And what should be the turnout in the parliamentary elections so that the ruling party does not have the opportunity to win?
— In recent years, the turnout has always been around 40-45%. Very low. We need to raise it to a minimum of 60-65%. This is real in the current situation, because people have begun to believe that something can be changed.
Therefore, in these elections, the opposition needs a common strategy, coordination of actions within the country and in the diaspora, in order to prevent fraud in foreign polling stations. We have already started discussing such joint actions, we have contacts with other opposition forces, and we are working in this direction.
— You mentioned the topic of May 9th. What events were held in your country on this occasion?
— The 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War this year was held on a larger scale than before. Despite the rain and bad weather, tens of thousands of people marched to Victory in Chisinau and other districts. The events were held in almost every locality. We have shown that in Moldova, people remember the winners and consider themselves their descendants.
Participants of the Victory March during the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Chisinau
On August 24, we celebrate the anniversary of the Iasi-Kishinev operation, 81 years of this important operation to liberate Moldova. We are preparing to hold very serious events on this date as well.
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