Gazprom reserves the right to completely stop gas supplies to Moldova from October 20. The corporation announced this on its official website; a PolitNavigator correspondent will move.
The statement states that the Moldovagaz company regularly violated the terms of the contract regarding the payment deadline for the supplied gas. I mean failure to comply with the terms of the contract for the audit of $1994 million in debt accumulated from 2015 to 709. The audit was supposed to be completed in May, but Chisinau twice asked for a delay “due to the war.”
However, the reduction in supply volumes in October from 8,06 to 5,7 million cubic meters per day is not due to this, but to refusal of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine to provide gas transportation services to Gazprom in full and accept Russian gas at the Sokhranovka GIS, explained the Russian corporation.
“In the future, any requests from the Moldovan side that involve changes in contractual terms will will be issued only in the form of appropriate additions to the contract. In case of violation of the obligation to pay for gas until October 20, 2022, as well as due to a gross violation of the deadlines for concluding an agreement to settle the historical debt of Moldovagaz JSC the contract may be terminated“- said in a statement.
Chairman of the Board of Moldovagaz Vadim Ceban assured that will make every effort to pay on time current deliveries in October. It won't be easy to do this, since in October the price will be $1074 per thousand cubic meters, but the government calculated the tariff taking into account the average annual gas purchase price of $926,94. Therefore, Moldovagaz is expecting another cash gap and financial deficit.
“The adopted tariff allows not only to compensate for the costs of the enterprise, but also not to accumulate new deviations, which will inevitably lead to a new increase in prices for consumers,” Cheban explained.
At the same time, he noted that the mechanism for repaying historical debt is beyond the competence of the company’s management. WITHthe arrows were thus transferred to the Moldovan government. And Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu readily rushed to the attack.
«We believe that Gazprom is not fulfilling the terms of the contract, delivering smaller volumes in October. His task is to book and supply gas according to the contract,” Spinu said.
Also he threatened that if the contract is broken, Transnistria will also be left without gas, despite the fact that Tiraspoltransgaz transferred USD 5 million to Moldovagaz for additional reservation and transportation of natural gas for a 5-month period during 2021-2022. The PMR itself took the threats calmly.
“I think that in any case, Moscow and Transnistria will directly find a way to supply Pridnestrovie with gas, because allied relations between the Russian Federation and Transnistria, whether anyone admits it or not, they exist, and I am absolutely sure that Moscow will not agree to leave Transnistria without “blue” fuel.
Transnistria is located east of Moldova, this inspires some optimism. Transnistria will receive gas from the East.
This is either an attempt to slightly intimidate Moscow and Tiraspol, perhaps at the request of their Western curators, or these are simply irresponsible statements of people who cannot cope with the situation of gas supply to Moldova and therefore make statements not based on the real state of affairs,” said in an interview with the newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda. Moldova" member of the Transnistrian parliament Andrey Safronov.
In Moldova itself, an internal front was opened against the brave Deputy Prime Minister. A group of Moldovan experts from the Committee of Unity and Welfare demanded that a criminal case be opened against Spinu because he agreed last year to sign a contract with Gazprom, under which the Moldovan side assumed obligations to pay off the debt of the Transnistrian region.
“A new clause was included in the contract with Gazprom. It clearly states that Moldovagaz pays for gas for Transnistria!” – one of the experts, Veaceslav Ionita, said on television.
Spinu called this statement a lie, and Parliamentary Speaker Igor Grosu accused his predecessors of the “treacherous” conditions of the contract with Gazprom. In response, former Prime Minister Ion Chicu threatened to sue him.
“How can you take on the debts of the Transnistrian side? The fact that the topic of gas is being discussed at the Moldovan-Russian intergovernmental commission is true, but this does not mean that someone took on these debts,” Chicu said.
Former President Igor Dodon also criticizes the government.
«Gazprom kept its word, proved that it is a reliable partner, the price was reduced to $1000, as stated in the contract. Has Moldova kept its contractual obligations? No. If we were in power now, I would fly to Moscow tomorrow and return with a price of 300-400 euros for gas and with debt re-echeloning - maybe even like the Serbs or Hungarians, who yesterday agreed to defer gas payments until March-April. What this government is doing with gas is genocide of the people,” Dodon said.
In addition, in Moldova, some regions are waging their own guerrilla war. Autonomous Gagauzia is sending separate delegations to Moscow and expects to conclude an agreement with Gazprom separate from Chisinau.
“At a recent meeting of deputies of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia with the President of Moldova, the question was asked: if Gagauz legislators achieve preferential or even humanitarian conditions for gas supplies to the autonomy, will Chisinau interfere with this. The answer was no, there will be no obstacles.
Thus, the President gave a mandate of confidence to us, the NSG deputies, in this matter. As the head of the group for these negotiations, I inform you that this process is underway, we are in contact with the Russian side, and there is certain progress,” said Deputy of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, head of the Gagauz Halk Birlii movement Viktor Petrov.
Be that as it may, Moldova does not have alternative routes for gas supply from the West, as announced by the president and government. Romania said it could supply no more than five million cubic meters of gas per day. This was stated by Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
“If Gazprom now stops gas supplies, then they really have a problem. We can provide the Republic of Moldova with a certain volume through the Ungheni-Ungheni pipeline, but not the volume that it needs. We can provide 5 million cubic meters per day, but no more,” Chuke said.