Moldova is ready to buy gas on the international market if Gazprom stops its supplies from May 1. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure Andrei Spinu at a briefing on Wednesday, April 20.
“After many letters sent by the government and Moldovagaz to Gazprom with a request to postpone the audit,” Spinu said.
He noted that there was no response from Gazprom to letters asking to postpone the audit, reports NSN.
“We have prepared for any scenario and provided an alternative so that people do not get hurt,” the minister said.
In March, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa announced the failure of the audit tender due to the refusal of specialized companies to come to the republic in connection with the situation in the region related to the Ukrainian crisis.
Spinu added that Energocom is currently evaluating international traders who may become potential gas suppliers to Moldova. Seven companies have expressed their willingness to supply gas, and some of them have already done so in October last year.
Also, according to him, Moldova saves gas, part of state-owned enterprises switched to fuel oil, reports RT. The country has a reserve of 24 million cubic meters of gas. This volume will be enough to cover 57% of demand if supplies from Russia stop.
Earlier, on April 12, the head of Moldovagaz, Vadim Cheban, said that in April the purchase price of gas for Moldova would rise to $1,193 per 1,000 cubic meters. m. In March, the price was $547 per thousand cubic meters. On the same day, Cheban said that the gas distribution company asked Gazprom to provide more time to resolve the issue of repaying the debt for gas.
On March 23, Cheban said that from May 1, Moldovagaz would be able to pay for Russian gas supplies in rubles or euros. He clarified that the agreement, which specifies the monetary units of payment for Russian gas, was signed by Moldovagaz and Gazprom in October 2021. In addition, the company has previously paid with Russia in rubles, so there should be no problems.
On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Federation would transfer payments for gas supplies to unfriendly countries (all EU members) into rubles due to the loss of reliability of Western currencies. The corresponding decree was signed on March 31.
Buyers are required to open ruble accounts in Russian banks, they will pay for gas, which was supplied from April 1, 2022. In case of non-fulfillment of payment, Russia will regard this as a default by the buyer. A number of G7 countries and the European Union considered the Russian demand a violation of contracts.
The decision to transfer gas transactions into rubles was made against the backdrop of anti-Russian sanctions that foreign countries introduced after the start of the special operation. On February 24, Putin announced the launch of a special operation to protect the civilian population in the Donbass after the aggravated situation with shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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