As an exception, Gazprom agreed to satisfy Moldova's request not to stop gas supplies from today.

The representative of the company Sergey Kupriyanov told about it.

According to him, the Moldovan side "recognizes the legitimacy of the company's claims" and pledged to fully pay the existing debt on November 26.

"The Moldovan government has asked Gazprom not to stop gas supplies from today ... Gazprom, as an exception, showing goodwill and understanding what a difficult situation the citizens of Moldova may face, agreed with this request," he said Kupriyanov.

He stressed that the Russian holding expects that Moldova will absolutely fulfill its obligations under the contract in the future and pay current payments on time. 

On October 23, Sergei Kupriyanov announced that the company could stop gas supplies to Moldova if Chisinau does not pay off the debt for fuel.

The representative of "Gazprom" noted that the difficult situation with gas supplies was due to the fault of the authorities of the republic, and drew attention to the fact that Chisinau had accumulated a debt for the already supplied gas.

At the same time, 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 the country's energy security.

Also on October 22, the Moldovan parliament introduced a state of emergency in the country due to a gas shortage.

Deputy Prime Minister of the republic Andrei Spinu said that the government of the republic intends to conduct an independent audit of historical debts to Gazprom before admitting its obligations on them.

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At the same time, Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban criticized the government of the country at the end of October for the lack of a plan to overcome the crisis in the energy sector.

On October 29, the parties were able to reach agreements and a new five-year contract was signed for the supply of gas by Gazprom to Moldova.

However, on November 22, Kupriyanov said that Gazprom again notified the Moldovan side of the possibility of stopping gas supplies to the country due to Chisinau's failure to fulfill its contractual obligations under the agreement concluded at the end of October. 

“The next deadline for current payments is today, November 22.

There is no payment.

In this regard, today "Gazprom" notified the Moldovan side in accordance with the terms of the contract that in 48 hours gas supplies to Moldova will be stopped, "said the representative of the gas company.

In turn, the Prime Minister of Moldova Natalya Gavrilitsa sent a request to the country's parliament on November 24 for an emergency allocation of funds to pay off the debt for gas to Gazprom.

The press service said that in order to receive funds, the Prime Minister called on the country's parliament to urgently make the necessary amendments to the law on the state budget for 2021.

Later, the vice-premier of the republic, Andrei Spinu, said that the Moldovan government was taking all measures to pay Gazprom.

“Dear citizens, dear media representatives!

I have just received a response from Gazprom to my request to extend the payment deadline for current gas consumption.

The deadline has been extended until Friday 26 November.

Let me remind you that the Moldovan government is taking all the necessary measures to ensure that the accumulated debt for October-November is paid on Friday, ”he wrote on Facebook.

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Energy Committee Igor Ananskikh, in an interview with RT, assessed the position of Gazprom.

“Responsible organization.

They think about children and old people. "Gazprom" tries to do everything so that they are not left without gas, heating and hot water in cold weather, "the deputy noted.

In turn, Deputy Director General of the Institute of National Energy Alexander Frolov expressed surprise that the Moldovan authorities have just made statements about an urgent search for funds to pay the debt of the Russian company.

“It’s strange that only now they are concerned about requests to allocate the necessary amount of money, although the terms of the contract and the amount of payment are known,” the expert said.

The specialist also noted that Gazprom understands that if supplies are cut off, Moldova will physically have nowhere to take gas.

The expert recalled that Chisinau had already tried to buy gas from a third party, in particular, from Poland, but this was not enough.

As a reminder, on October 25, Moldova signed a contract for a trial purchase of 1 million cubic meters of gas from the Polish energy company PGNiG. 

The country's government noted that the republic continues to negotiate with Gazprom.