MOLDOVA PRESIDENT PAYING OFFICIAL VISIT TO AZERBAIJAN

Moldovan President Igor Dodon flew for an official visit to Azerbaijan [a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus region] on Wednesday.

The head of state is being accompanied in this voyage by the Chairperson of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), MP Zinaida Grechanaya, and by Bashkan [Governor] of Gagauzia Irina Vlah.

Like in Dodon’s previous visits to Moscow and Istanbul, his delegation does not include the representatives of the Moldovan Government, Parliament or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

Igor Dodon wrote on his Facebook page that in Baku city he will have meetings with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, with the Speaker of the Milli Majlis [parliament], the Prime Minister, and with representatives of the Moldo-Azerbaijani Cultural Society.

“We really have many things to discuss with the leadership of Azerbaijan. We are looking forward to a fruitful visit”, Dodon wrote before departure from Chisinau.

Last week, Igor Dodon announced that he would fly to Baku via Moscow, where he might make a stop in the hope to discuss cooperation questions with relevant Russian officials, in particular the latest legislative initiative by the Moldovan democratic pro-European authorities to prohibit what they name “Russian propaganda” – the news, political-information and analytical programs cast by Russian television channels that are retransmitted in Moldova.