Moldovan President Asks Putin for $300mn Loan to Build Infrastructure

Moldova has requested a $300 million loan from Russia to finance large infrastructure projects, the president of the former Soviet republic Igor Dodon said this week, according to TASS.

Dodon said he discussed the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin during an official visit last week.

“A decision in principle has already been made. The loan will be negotiated at the government level in January so that it could be ratified by parliament in early February,” Dodon said during a press briefing streamed on the website of the president’s office.

The conditions of the Russian loan are not worse, but similar to those agreed with Moldova’s western partners such as Romania, the European Investment Bank (EIB) or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the president added.

Dodon also said that the proceeds of the loan will be used mostly for road construction. The president announced at the end of November that Moldova is seeking a $500 million loan from Russia to finance big infrastructure projects.

According to Dodon, at his meeting with Putin, the two presidents also agreed that Moldova should continue getting its supplies of Russian gas through Ukraine. 

“You know that Russia and Ukraine were able to reach an agreement, and this means that gas will continue to flow into Moldova in the usual way,” Dodon said at a joint briefing with Prime Minister Ion Kiku, referring to a recently reached 5-year deal on gas transit from Russia to Ukraine.