Moldova sees no reason to terminate the contract by Gazprom

CHISINAU, 4 Oct – PRIME. The Moldovan authorities believe that Gazprom has no reason to terminate the contract with Moldovagaz and stop gas supplies to the republic, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure Andrei Spinu said.

Earlier, Gazprom informed that it reserves the right to completely stop gas supplies to Moldova if the country violates its payment obligations by October 20, and also because of a gross violation of the deadlines for concluding an agreement to settle the historical debt of Moldovagaz JSC. Spinu stated in his Telegram channel that, in his opinion, Gazprom is violating its own obligations and is looking for excuses not to supply gas to Moldovans in winter.

“We believe that there are no reasons to terminate the contract and stop gas supplies to our country. We think that Gazprom can do this only for far-fetched reasons,” Spinu said on air of Vocea Basarabiei radio.

According to him, the delay in the advance payment cannot be considered a serious justification for stopping fuel supplies. The vice premier noted that Gazprom, as one of the main shareholders of Moldovagaz, must support the company in a difficult situation.

Moldova is experiencing an energy crisis due to rising energy prices. The authorities intend to reduce gas consumption in winter by at least 15%, and have also developed and submitted for discussion a plan that includes turning off street lighting, lowering the central heating temperature, transferring schoolchildren and students to distance learning. Since August, Moldovagaz has been cutting off consumers who have not paid on time for services for the supply of natural gas.

In October last year, the Moldovan authorities agreed with Gazprom to extend the contract for the supply of gas to the republic, subject to an audit of the Moldovagaz debt in 2022. Only in August, the Moldovan government concluded an audit agreement with the Norwegian company Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma and the British Forensic Risk Alliance & Co. However, Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu told Gazprom that the government would not have time to complete the audit of the debt by October 1, so he asked the Russian side for a delay.