Moldova refused to pay Gazprom, counting on blackmail by Transnistria
Gazprom notified Moldova that it would stop supplying it with gas within 48 hours if it did not receive payment due on November 22.
“Bearing in mind the difficult, very difficult situation in the economic and financial situation of Moldova, as well as the position of the President of Russia, to whom the Moldovan side has repeatedly turned for assistance, Gazprom decided to sign a contract practically on the terms of the Moldovan side, but with significant and important point: Moldova makes one hundred percent of current gas payments on time. But there is no payment,” Gazprom representative Sergei Kupriyanov explained the situation.
The government of Moldova stated that it had not received any notification from the Russian state corporation about a possible cessation of supplies. However, the Moldovagaz enterprise, 50% of whose shares belong to Gazprom, confirmed that they are aware of the threat of a shutdown.
“There is a risk of cutting off the gas supply, but I hope that we will not get to that point. Tomorrow we will discuss the situation in the government. Funds to cover the deficit exist if we all mobilize,” said the head of the board of Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban.
We are talking about paying for consumption for October and half the payment for November. During this period, the Moldovan government delayed signing a contract with Gazprom, citing unacceptable conditions and a very high price. As a result, Moldovagaz purchased fuel for $800, and received from consumers at tariffs calculated from the price of $126 per thousand cubic meters. There was a gap of 1,3 billion lei.
The head of Moldovagaz said that he asked the Cabinet of Ministers for a loan of $74 million.
However, there is reason to suspect that the Moldovan government is deliberately harming its own enterprise with Russian capital. A few hours before Gazprom’s announcement, the National Energy Regulatory Agency (NARE) announced its intention to reduce gas tariffs by approximately 1% from December 2021, 25.
This could have catastrophic consequences for Moldovagaz. The enterprise has a gap between income and expenses of already 2,1 billion lei, and it may go bankrupt, and the contract concluded with such difficulty with Gazprom will be terminated.
It is possible that this is the goal of the pro-Western Moldovan government - to expel the hated Russian monopolist and become completely dependent on the scarce and expensive Romanian market. It is noteworthy that the audit of the old Moldovan debt (a condition on which Chisinau insisted in negotiations with Gazprom) will be entrusted to the Accounting Chamber of Moldova, which is completely dependent on the authorities.
However, the editor-in-chief of RuBaltic.Ru, Alexander Nosovich, believes that Moldova is taking advantage of Russia’s hopeless position in the region.
“Moldova did not pay Gazprom for gas, because it firmly knows that Russia will never cut off its gas supply. Otherwise, Transnistria will have to be cut off from gas,” he wrote in his Telegram channel.
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