Ex-president Igor Dodon congratulated on his birthday the deputy head of the administration of the presidency of the Russian Federation, Dmitrii Kozak, the author of the federalization plan for Moldova, rejected by former president Vladimir Voronin. In his congratulatory message, Dodon praised Kozak for his "huge contribution to the development of Moldovan-Russian relations".

"I warmly congratulate the Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitrii Kozak, on his birthday. Dmitrii Nikolaevich is a true professional in his field. He made a huge contribution to the development and consolidation of Moldovan-Russian bilateral relations, he contributed to maintaining the strategic partnership between Moldova and Russia, and to the activation of historically friendly relations between our peoples. I sincerely wish Dmitri Nikolaevich good health and success in his professional activities," the former head of state wrote on his Facebook page.

The "Kozak Memorandum" or "Kozak Plan", named after its initiator Dmitri Kozak, was a proposal from 2003 aimed at a definitive settlement of the conflict between the Republic of Moldova and the separatist regime in Transnistria, by establishing an asymmetric federal Moldovan state. It also provided for the stationing of Russian troops on the territory of Moldova for another 20 years, until 2023.

Among other things, the memorandum proposed the creation of a bicameral parliament consisting of a lower house, elected by proportional representation. However, all laws had to be approved by the Senate, whose distribution was disproportionate to the distribution of the population by territory: 13 senators elected by the federal lower house, 9 by Transnistria, and 4 by Gagauzia.

Large demonstrations against the Kozak memorandum took place in Chisinau in the days following the publication of the Russian proposal. The leadership of the Republic of Moldova refused to sign the memorandum without coordination with European organizations. President Putin's visit to Moldova has been canceled. Later, in 2005, President Vladimir Voronin made a statement regarding the rejection of the "Memorandum of 2003" as contradicting the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova.