Following the example of the Ministry of Defense, Gazprom launched partial gas supplies to Moldova

Gazprom will continue to supply gas to Moldova in October, but only partially. Instead of the 8,06 million cubic meters the country needs, 5,7 million cubic meters will be supplied per day.  Chisinau is happy about this too. There they were afraid that the valve would be completely closed.

There were reasons for this. In September, Moldovagaz paid the Russian giant $9,67 million for August alone, but was unable to pay the advance payment on the 20th, required by the contract.

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At the same time, the president of Russia Maia Sandu brazenly claimed that Gazprom does not want to supply fuel, because, according to the formula, its price should decrease from 1880 to 1050 dollars.

“Gazprom’s duty is to fulfill its contractual obligations to Moldova. If they break the contract, then it is clear that there is no point in us buying from them, because we can buy on the market. There is gas, the question is what the price will be,” she said.

Sandu chose to remain silent about the fact that Moldova is not fulfilling the terms of the contract. Before May, it had to audit its $1991 million debt for 2021-709. But Chisinau removed the Russians from the reconciliation process and began looking for auditors in Europe. As a result, they did not have time to carry out the competitive procedures, as Sandu justified herself, “because of the war.” Now Moldova allocates 800 euros from the reserve fund for the audit, that is, an amount greater than the estimated debt.

“This is a simple financial reconciliation that the employees of the Accounts Chamber are currently working on; I do not believe that these specialists did not come up with figures that would show the debt. You can, of course, rely on the international situation and space, but we are doing nothing to fulfill even the obligations that we ourselves included in the contract,” former Prime Minister of Moldova Ion Chicu is perplexed.

But Gazprom generously forgave the lack of an audit, and, consequently, the debt. As for partial supplies, they will not create serious problems for Chisinau, since, at the initiative of the pro-Western government, Moldova reduced consumption by 28% in September.

At the same time, gas tariffs will only increase. Deputy Speaker Andrei Spinu has already announced this.

“From October 1, residents of Moldova will pay an explosive gas tariff - 29 lei 26 bani. This is the highest price in the region and higher than the European average (Ukraine – 5,16 lei, Romania – 12,95 lei, European average – 29,25 lei). Unfortunately, Moldovans have to pay the highest price for Russian gas. The authorities should demand money for this from those who prohibited President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa from traveling to Moscow to negotiate a lower purchase price for gas,” former President of Moldova Igor Dodon commented on the news.

But Europe gives money to Moldova with only one condition: not to pay for Russian gas with it.  According to Sypinu, a loan of 300 million euros was received by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development under the condition of purchases from specific 7 companies approved by the EBRD. The price of such gas is not specified.

Moldova is going to store this reserve gas... in Ukraine.

“We do not see any risks in placing gas reserves in Ukraine, since the storage facilities are located in the west of the country, almost next to the Polish border in Lviv, and the storage facilities themselves are at great depth,” Spynu said.

Also Moldova and Ukraine want to unblock the Trans-Balkan pipeline and use it in virtual reverse mode. Historically, this pipeline allowed the transit of Russian gas from Ukraine to the Balkans and Turkey. Now it will carry LNG from Turkish or Greek terminals. It is not said what the price of such fuel will be.

Videos depicting unconventional ways of earning money for heat have become popular on the Moldovan Internet. In one of them, the father of the family works part-time at a strip club to pay for a bundle of brushwood. Moldovan media write about the preparation of public utilities not for the heating season, but for the cold season.

And here is a video where the characters warm up in a cold home through intimacy.

The Moldovan government is also looking for alternatives. Spinu proudly announced the purchase of fuel oil (a more expensive fuel than gas). However, as experts explain, many Moldovan boiler houses simply technically will not be able to switch to it.

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa also reassures: Chisinau is negotiating with the Romanian government on the purchase of firewood. Gavrilitsa presents this as an act of unprecedented friendship and cooperation. The Moldovan government assures that there will be enough firewood for everyone if they are not stocked up for future use.

We should expect new exotic options as well. They are sought for the sole purpose of “not being humiliated” by trips to Moscow to negotiate additional supplies.

“Maia Sandu is not your supply manager to go to Russia and negotiate on gas,” said Oazu Nantoi, a member of the ruling party.

_{“Maia Sandu had no problem meeting with Kozak to become prime minister, she should not have a problem meeting with the Russians to renegotiate a more profitable contract with Gazprom,” Sandu’s former opposition comrade Andrei Nastase counters.}

“The pride and reluctance of the country’s top leadership to negotiate with Gazprom is costing the residents of Moldova dearly. Moldovans have already paid tens of millions of dollars more for gas than they could have if “someone had used their brains” and agreed on cheaper blue fuel for the population,” says economic expert Veaceslav Ionita.

But Sandu is doing everything possible to feel out of place at the hypothetical negotiations in Moscow. She voices statements regarding every event of the military conflict in Ukraine, interpreting it in favor of Kyiv. Now she has promptly condemned the entry of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions into Russia.