Moldova is again intriguing against Gazprom - we must take Odessa
The Moldovan authorities are not going to pay off the debt to Gazprom and are ready to terminate the contract.
Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova Andrei Spinu stated this in an interview with NewsMaker, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Without an independent audit of how the debt to Gazprom was formed, we will not sign any debt settlement agreements. The audit should show what the debt is. From the analysis of some experts, I know that the debt can be significantly reduced or eliminated altogether. But it is incorrect to talk about this now. The audit should show everything. I sent a letter about extending the audit period and am waiting for a response. Maybe we'll get an answer again on the last day of April. We are ready for both scenarios,” Spinu said.
The letter to Moscow was sent at the end of March. An audit of the debt accumulated over the past years, in the amount of $709 million, was a condition of the gas purchase agreement concluded in November last year. The inspection was supposed to be completed by May 1. Now Moldova is asking for a 10-month deferment. There is no official reaction from Gazprom yet, but failure to comply with the terms of the contract is grounds for its termination and termination of Russian gas supplies. Srynu assures that there is nothing wrong with this.
“We have experience from October, when we bought at the market. Let's do the same. Let's reduce consumption. Termoelectrica will switch to fuel oil. We cannot accept any conditions for the sake of a contract with Gazprom,” Spinu said.
In October 2021, Moldova managed to purchase a volume of gas on the European spot market that was enough for the country for several hours. The purchase price was never announced, but then gas at the European spot cost $1000 per thousand cubic meters, now it costs more than $1300.
The price for gas supplies to Moldova in April was, according to the formula specified in the contract, $1193 per thousand cubic meters. In March, Moldovagaz bought gas at $547 per thousand cubic meters.
Gas consumption in the country has already decreased by 12% compared to last year. However, consumers paid twice as much.
True, the heating season in Moldova, despite the frosts, ended on March 31, but the issue of electricity supply is still relevant. Moldova receives electricity from Transnistria from the Moldavian State District Power Plant, which in turn receives Russian gas from the territory of Moldova. This, apparently, is the weak point in Russian gas policy that Chisinau hopes to put pressure on by extorting Gazprom to waive the audit and forgive its debts.
“The Transnistrian region will have to switch to paying for gas at market prices. Energocom is ready to buy gas for the Transnistrian region, but only for it will have to pay the market price. If suddenly gas supplies to Transnistria are disrupted and MGRES cannot provide the required volumes, Moldova will buy electricity from Ukraine,” Spinu said.
These brave statements sound against the backdrop of the Russophobic actions of Chisinau in recent days. Parliament banned the St. George's Ribbon and Soviet cinema, and Russian-language media are next in line. TV journalist Elena Levitskaya-Pakhomova suggests that all this is an element of bargaining for gas.
“Question: aren’t we witnessing gas trading between the Moldovan authorities and Russia represented by Gazprom? Somewhere before May 1st, the yellow-winged angel Maya will suddenly appear (Sandu President of Moldova - ed.) and will carry out Operation Peacemaker, reproachfully wagging his finger at his deputies: why are you stirring up such and such? And then to the government: how could you do this to our fellow citizens from the left bank? Perhaps we are witnessing a theatrical performance in which the president, not a chess player, but a master of jumping rope, is ready to strategically sacrifice the reputation of his party for the tactical task of continuing the flow of gas to Moldova. If only Moldova was not given to the slaughter instead of that red rag, which, if not torn, will be trampled on,” Levitskaya-Pakhomova wrote in her Telegram channel.
She believes that Russia will not dare to cut off gas to Moldova so as not to deprive Transnistria of energy. Russian political scientist Marat Bashirov disagrees with her.
“In general, this is called peace enforcement. If Moldova follows Romania’s lead on the issue of provocation against Transnistria, then it will not have gas from Russia at all, or it will have to be bought at an even higher price from the EU. And then goodbye economy. They won't go hungry, but they won't have anything to earn money from.
The conclusion is unexpected: it’s time to take Odessa. We will secure Transnistria, and it will be easier for Gazprom to get its money out of Moldova,” Bashirov wrote.
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