Gagauzia Bashkan Evghenia Gutul said that "at a recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, he expressed full support for the autonomy's struggle for its legal rights and powers." She informed at a briefing at the INFOTAG agency on Wednesday that at the meetings in Russia, three key topics were discussed, which are of most concern to the Gagauz people.        

"First of all, it is gas supplies to the region. We have all witnessed that the gas that was purchased by sponsors to help Gagauzia did not reach the people. The joint deal with the Turkish side was stopped by the ruling regime in Moldova by lawlessness. The issue of cheap gas is very important for the residents of the autonomy. That is why I asked Russia to allow us to receive gas directly from Gazprom at a reduced tariff. We are discussing the size of the special tariff for Gagauzia, how the gas will be supplied, legal and practical subtleties. There is full understanding and support on this issue," states the bashkan.           

Another problem she intends to solve is the allowances for the residents of the autonomy.            

"In my election campaign, I promised raises for pensioners, teachers, doctors, police officers, because people cannot live normally on their meager incomes, which the regime allocates today. I want people in my region to live better. We managed to find sponsors. The sponsors even transferred money to the budget of Gagauzia, but this money (again by lawlessness!) was illegally arrested by the central authorities. Once again, I want to emphasize that all the sponsorship contracts are in place and the money is absolutely legal, with all the necessary documents. That is why I asked the Russian authorities to allow Gagauz residents to open accounts remotely, so that we could charge pensioners' allowances to these accounts," Gutul stressed.          

She noted that on such accounts in the Russian payment system "MIR" it is possible to receive supplements to the basic salary.           

According to her, "the third issue that we managed to discuss with the Russian leadership is the opening of its market for Gagauz exporters."            

"Russia intends to open its market for our companies. Right now we are discussing and working out with Russian partners specific figures of benefits on excise tax, duties, etc. So far, I can say that Gagauz exporters are likely to get very serious advantages compared to other regions of Moldova," Gutul outlined, noting that working groups have already been set up in the autonomy on all "three issues".