Following the declarations made by PAS leader, Maia Sandu, during an interview for Europa Libera, regarding the cooperation program between Republic of Moldova and International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ministry of Finance has requested some clarification from IMF's administration, at the request of local mass media. Therefore, IMF Executive Director Anthony De Lannoy offered some statements on Republic of Moldova.

"It came to my attention that during an interview with Europa Libera, the leader of a political party has made public statements on the implementation of the Republic of Moldova’s economic and financial reform program supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Specific statements were attributed to a representative of the Executive Director representing the Republic of Moldova in the Executive Board at the IMF.

As the Executive Director representing the Republic of Moldova in the Executive Board of the IMF, I would like to offer the following clarifications:

• The meeting with my representative which is referred to in the interview took place in Washington DC in my absence and was of a general nature, as my representative is not directly in charge of the Republic of Moldova’s IMF-supported program.

• The statements attributed to my representative are misrepresented. In particular, there has been no discussion on the alleged refusal by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova to accept anticorruption conditionality within the framework of the IMF-supported program. Anti-corruption conditionality was never part of the ongoing negotiations between the IMF and the authorities of the Republic of Moldova. A detailed overview of the conditionality and progress towards implementation can be found in the program-related documents, which are publicly available on the IMF’s website (www.imf.org).

• The views and the position of the IMF, of the Executive Board of the IMF, and of the Executive Director representing the Republic of Moldova with regard to the progress made under the Republic of Moldova’s IMF-supported program are reflected in the official statements published on the IMF’s website (www.imf.org) and communicated through the IMF’s Resident Representative Office in Chişinau.

As Executive Director I represent the interests of the Republic of Moldova and its people. As such, my team and myself are open to engage with representatives of all political parties and civil society in the Republic of Moldova. Important progress has been made under the IMF-supported program, as is reflected in the latest Press Release (No. 17/514) of December 20, 2017. I therefore regret the public statements made by the leader of a political party during an interview with Europa Libera, misrepresenting the views of IMF Executive Board members. I also encourage all stakeholders to avoid making political statements ahead of the general elections which could jeopardize the progress made so far under the IMF-supported program."

Anthony De Lannoy

Executive Director

The statements can also be found in Romanian language on the official web page of the Ministry of Finance.