Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure of Moldova Andrei Spinu said on November 23 that Moldovagaz is looking for ways to pay off its debt to the Russian Gazprom.
“At the moment, the debt exceeds $ 74.2 million. So far, Moldovagaz has not found a commercial solution to repay this debt,” he wrote in Facebook…
The Deputy Prime Minister added that the problem was caused by the increase in gas tariffs. So, in October, fuel was purchased at a price of $ 790 per thousand cubic meters, although the tariff included a price of $ 148, he said.
Spinu stressed that the government of the republic, together with Moldovagaz, is looking for a way out of the situation.
Earlier on the same day, it became known that the heads of Moldovagaz appealed to the country’s authorities in order to obtain a loan of about $ 74 million to pay off the debt to Gazprom.
On November 22, Gazprom’s spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said that the company had notified Moldova of the cessation of gas supplies, since the country had not paid.
At the same time, Kupriyanov noted that Moldova and Gazprom had been negotiating gas supplies for a long time. The Russian company first formed the terms of the contract in accordance with market prices, and then was ready to make concessions, given the difficult economic situation in Moldova and the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On November 1, it became known about the start of gas supplies to Moldova under a new contract with the Russian “Gazprom”. Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that the republic is pleased with the extension of the contract. In her opinion, the gas crisis in the country ended with the signing of the agreement.
During the Russian-Moldovan gas talks on October 22, the Russian side offered a 25% discount. The condition for receiving it was a promise to Moldova within three years to return the debt accumulated over previous years – about $ 700 million. According to the new contract, the republic will pay this debt.
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