Gazprom is not demanding Moldovagaz to repay the historical debt of $709 million for gas to consumers on the right bank of the Nistru/Dniester River, but is asking to solve the issue of its settlement - Vadim Ceban
The statement was made by the acting chairman of the Moldovagaz board of directors on the air of the “New Week” program on TV8. He said that the issue is to sign an agreement on the settlement of this gas debt and to settle the payments. Vadim Ceban emphasized that since 2016, Moldovagaz has not accumulated any debts to Gazprom for gas consumption on the right bank of the Nistru/Dniester River. “We have no debts to Gazprom in terms of current payments. There is an unsettled historical debt, which refers to the periods of the nineties, the 2000s and part of the period from 2010 to 2014,” Moldovagaz head said. In his opinion, the issue with these debts could have been solved and should have been solved in a different context. “My opinion is as follows: the issue with debts in general should be put aside now at this stage, the status quo should be preserved, and we should consolidate our attention on natural gas supplies to the Transnistrian region. Now there is no sense to condition the resumption of gas supplies to Transnistria on the settlement of historical debts,” Vadim Ceban said. He emphasized that at this stage there are all the documents, acts of reconciliation, which confirm the historical debt of Moldovagaz to Gazprom on the right bank of the Nistru/Dniester River in the amount of $709 million. “This debt is in the accounting records, no one has canceled it. Documents are being signed,” Moldovagaz head said. According to him, commercially Gazprom has every right to demand payment of this debt, especially since Gazprom has a decision of the Moscow Commercial Arbitration Court on Moldovagaz's total debt. “There are much more debts there, and the main part is the debt of the Transnistrian region, the company Tiraspoltransgaz,” said Vadim Ceban. He drew attention to the fact that the results of an independent audit of the debt, conducted at the initiative of the Moldovan government by two foreign companies, were not approved by the Moldovagaz Supervisory Board, and thus the status quo is maintained. The head of the company emphasized that the Moldovan government does not owe Gazprom and is not responsible for Moldovagaz's debts, nor is Gazprom responsible for Moldovagaz's debts as a shareholder. “None of the shareholders is responsible. This is a general rule for everyone. Therefore, the issue of debt resolution and settlement of debts, the total amount of debt, should be resolved specifically at the corporate level, or between the creditor and debtor Gazprom and Moldovagaz.” “Gazprom is actually in a conflict of interest in this respect, because it is a shareholder and can influence certain decisions,” Moldovagaz head said. // 16.01.2025 - InfoMarket.
