MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY COMMUNICATION WITH CITIZENS: IGOR DODON SAYS THAT OPPONENTS HAVE ALREADY UNLEASHED SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST HIM

Moldova President Igor Dodon maintains that his political opponents have already launched a campaign to discredit him.

On Friday, Dodon held his traditional weekly live communication with citizens on his YouTube channel and in the social networks and remarked that the opponents have already started their presidential campaign, "doing their utmost to defame the incumbent head of state. I wonder how come they decided to not wait until the official beginning of the election campaign next September?!"

"Well, we are running a technical monitoring of the situation, and we have established that 250-300 defamation materials are issued daily - in the printed press, social networks, on television and so forth. According to our calculations, all this should cost 1.5-2 million lei per day [up to 100,000 euros]. I wonder, where does such huge money come from? We will find out this", promised the President.

Dodon stressed that neither he nor his family members are actually affected by this dirty campaign, as well as by the heaping statements and demands to resume the investigation about the alleged funding of the Party of Socialists from abroad, which is prohibited by law.

"That's why the Socialists themselves have demanded from the Prosecutor General's Office to bring the investigation to a logical end. We know that we have not violated the law, and that's why we are demanding an objective analysis. I am sure the new Prosecutor General will manage with the challenges he is facing, though it is very difficult", said the Moldovan President.