Moldovan president meets IMF mission

Chisinau, 24 February /MOLDPRES/- President Igor Dodon today had a meeting with IMF Mission, led by new head Ben Kelmanson, the presidential press service has reported.

The sides exchanged opinions about the memorandum signed by Moldova with IMF in November 2016 and its effects on Moldovan people.

Dodon opted for cooperation with international organizations, as this collaboration should be for the benefit of Moldova and its citizens.

The president voiced concern on the cooperation memorandum, noting he did not agree with several provisions, especially, in the areas related to the pension system reform, tariff increase, limiting allocations for subsidies in agriculture.

Also, the president said he would block the law on amnesty and pardon in the current version.

In another context, the sides approached the “billion” law. Dodon said that under current conditions, the government along with IMF found the simplest solution – to put the burden of repayment to Moldovan citizens. The president was decisively against the fact that the Moldovans should return the stolen money. “I will take every effort to make thieves repay the money, I will opt for penalizing those who are guilty, confiscating and selling assets of those who were directly or indirectly involved in fraud”, he said.

The president specified that there were other solutions to repay the stolen billion and he would make them public soon. It was agreed to set a dialogue on the matter at expert level.