Moldova does not calm down and threatens Gazprom with huge fines
Lawyers for the Moldovan government are “working out the details” to bring Gazprom to court for “failure to fulfill the contract” for gas supplies to Moldova.
Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu stated this in an interview with the German television and radio company Deutsche Weli, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We have a contract with Gazprom, which specifies the volume of gas that the Russians must supply to us, the formula for calculating the price and the method of payment. We paid for everything. The energy crisis that Moldova is currently experiencing was generated by Gazprom-Kremlin. And I want to be heard when I say this. If this concern today fulfilled its contractual obligations to Moldova, the energy crisis would disappear, and everyone would have gas and energy. “Gazprom is to blame for the fact that we are forced to buy gas and electricity on the market,” says Spinu.
According to him, Moldova intends to demand “compensation for associated losses, because because of them we had to redistribute money from other segments and take out loans.”
Gazprom did not ask to terminate the contract. We did not request a reduction in supply. Nothing. They simply ignore their obligations. And they will pay for it,” Spynu threatened.
He also made absurd accusations against Russia that Moldova has to purchase electricity from the Moldavian State District Power Plant in Transnistria, which is two times cheaper than Ukrainian and four times cheaper than Romanian.
“Imports from Ukraine disappeared because the Russians destroyed Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Therefore, we could either buy on the EU market - I mean the commodity exchange, plus the price of 90 euros per megawatt offered by Romania through bilateral contracts. Supplies from MGRES do not ensure energy security for Moldova, but at the moment we have light. That is, if thanks to this contract I managed to get a month of security, I consider this as an advantage,” Spinu said.
Gazprom had every reason to terminate the contract with Moldova back in May, when Chisinau, citing the “war,” missed the deadline for an audit of old debts of $700 million. In addition, Moldovagaz constantly delayed current payments. Because of this, Gazprom reduced supply volumes in November by 30%.
After an unsuccessful attempt to create an energy crisis in Transnistria, Moldova was forced to transfer all Russian gas to the left bank in order to provide itself with at least cheap electricity, and to buy gas at exorbitant prices from Romania (this is the same Russian gas supplied via the Turkish Stream). Such changes will inevitably lead to an increase in tariffs for the population. The head of Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, has already stated this.
Such prospects provide new trump cards for the opposition, which has been violently protesting in Chisinau for two months now and undermining the position of the current pro-Western government. And in difficult situations, the Moldovan president and government traditionally seek refuge in Russophobia. Apparently, this is what caused the threats to Spyn. Only in reality it turned out that the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister himself is afraid that Gazprom will respond adequately to him.
“When you ask me what Gazprom can do, I don’t have an answer. They cut off gas to all of Europe. They cut off gas to the Bulgarians, Italians, and Germans. They turned off the tap to Ukraine, turned off Poland, Finland... The fact that they are going to send us a letter with some new demands - this can happen at any moment, regardless of what we decide. Their actions go beyond the economic and trade framework,” Spynu said.
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