Gazprom may stop gas supplies to Moldova if Chisinau does not pay off the debt for the fuel supplied in September and October this year.
This was announced by the official representative of the company Sergey Kupriyanov.
“Despite the accumulated debts, the Moldovan side is asking to extend the contract for the supply of gas for October and November this year.
"Gazprom" meets halfway here, has signed a contract for October and is ready to extend the contract for November if the Moldovan side pays in full for the supplies for September and October this year, "RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
If the Moldovan side does not fully pay for gas supplies, and, accordingly, a new contract is not signed from December 1, the company will stop supplies to the country, Kupriyanov confirmed.
The company representative noted that the difficult situation with gas supplies to the country was the fault of the republican authorities.
“The blame for this entirely lies with the Moldovan authorities.
We are talking about the crisis of non-payments on the part of Moldova for Russian gas, ”explained Kupriyanov.
According to him, the republic has accumulated a debt for the already supplied gas.
The amount owed is $ 433 million, and taking into account the delay in payments, the total amount is $ 709 million.
“At the same time, representatives of Moldova for some reason do not want to recognize the accumulated amount of debt.
The representatives of Moldova also do not like the price of gas, although the pricing here is clear and transparent, ”said the representative of Gazprom.
The company stressed that there is no policy in the situation with gas supplies to the republic, but the company cannot operate at a loss.
“There are limits to patience.
Moldova itself is provoking a crisis with its own hands, ”said Kupriyanov.
He also explained that the company is misunderstood by the information about the intention of the Moldovan authorities to liquidate the Moldovagaz enterprise, which hangs the country's debts to Gazprom for the supplied gas.
“You have to pay for the goods received on time,” concluded Kupriyanov.
First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Energy Committee Igor Ananskikh, in a conversation with RT, noted that the current situation will primarily affect the residents and enterprises of the country, as it will lead to an increase in the price of gas and products.
“It is difficult to understand the reason why the government was unable to agree with Gazprom on further supplies.
Because in any case, it is the cheapest gas for the republic.
I am afraid that some political insinuations influenced the decision of the Moldovan government to stop deliveries to the detriment of the residents of the country, ”said the deputy.
Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian government, in an interview with RT, noted that the long-term contract between the countries ended on September 30, after which Moldova signed a short-term contract for one month - October.
“And in fact, deliveries may stop even from November 1.
Kupriyanov simply says that Gazprom is ready to sign another one-month contract.
And then, in the absence of a long-term agreement at that time, there will be no gas from December 1, ”he said.
According to the expert, the risks that gas supplies to Moldova will end in a week are quite high.
The expert stressed that the country does not want to buy gas under the contracts offered by Gazprom.
“The company offers a standard European agreement with reference exclusively to the spot market.
Moldova at the moment does not pull such prices.
On September 30, the old agreement ended; it was on unique terms.
In the summer period there was a link to the spot market, because in summer there are low prices, and in the winter, when prices on the spot rise, there was a link to the cost of oil products.
That allowed Moldova to buy gas at a comfortable price all year round, ”the specialist emphasized.
At the same time, the current market price for October is too high for the republic, the expert noted.
“If earlier Moldova had fairly good political relations with Russia, now the opposite is true.
The country followed the path of the Baltics and Ukraine.
He throws mud at Russia, calls it an “aggressor,” etc. So why would Russia and Gazprom meet?
We do not offer overpriced either.
This is the standard European price, now there are real prices there, ”the specialist noted.
He noted that the republic can follow the European path, where "the prices are now," and return the debts to the company.
Gazprom is not a philanthropist either ... It is as much a commercial company as any other, so it cannot simply forgive debts.
Moldova is already being offered a comfortable option - to extend the payment of debts for three years, but it does not agree to this either, ”the specialist concluded.
We will remind, earlier, the Moldovan authorities introduced a high alert regime in the field of energy in the country, so that the relevant institutions could take measures to protect citizens and the country's energy security.
On September 30, Moldova and Russia extended their gas supply contract for one month, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Andrei Spinu said on Facebook.
On October 22, the Moldovan parliament declared a state of emergency in the country due to a gas shortage.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Moldova reported that the gas was turned off on the Eternal Flame due to a critical energy situation.
Later, the gas supply on the Eternal Flame in Chisinau was restored.
The gas supply contract between Russia and Moldova was signed in 2006 and has been extended several times.
On September 30, the parties extended it until the end of October.