The gas crisis has been overcome, and Moldova will continue to receive Russian gas at a price that Maia Sandu considers acceptable.
Moldovan President told about this in an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant (Коммерсант). “The gas crisis ended when Moldovagaz and Gazprom signed a contract. We will have gas from November 1, and this is already very good. It is a price that implies a rise of gas tariffs by the government or the regulator. There will be an increase in tariffs, but at the same time, this increase will not be as large as it would be if we bought gas today at the market price, because we all know that today's prices are very, very high,” the Moldovan head of state said. According to her, the biggest problem was the price, because Moldova wanted to get a price affordable for the people and enterprises. “The competitiveness of our enterprises depends on the price of gas, and the most serious issue was the issue of price. There was also a second issue – the debts. As for the debts, it was decided that there will be conducted an audit and after it there will be held negotiations about the restructuring of Moldovagaz's debts to Gazprom,” said Maia Sandu. She noted that this is a new contract. The President did not see the contract itself; she noted that it was a document between two economic agents - Moldovagaz and Gazprom. “We know what the formula is in the contract, and we know that the contract is for 5 years. And there is a protocol signed by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Moldova Andrei Spinu and Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Alexey Miller. The protocol says that the parties agreed that there will be a meeting of the Moldovan-Russian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation and one of the issues on its agenda will be the gas issue. Some things will probably be clarified there: how the debt audit will take place, when talks on restructuring this debt will begin,” the head of state said. While answering the question whether the signing of the documents in St. Petersburg means the recognition of Moldova's gas debt, the President of the Republic of Moldova noted that from the very beginning the government said that an audit should be conducted in order to start talking about the debt. "The protocol says that an audit will be made and then negotiations regarding those debts that will be confirmed by the audit will begin," she stressed. The head of state said that it was impossible to sort out all the things related to debt in a week or two, and therefore it was decided that time was needed. At the same time, she denied the information released by the Financial Times regarding negotiations. She denied the fact that during negotiations on gas Gazprom proposed to amend Moldova's agreement on the creation of a free trade zone with the EU and that Moscow would like Chisinau to abandon the agreement on a free trade zone with the European Union and join the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Referring to her involvement in gas negotiations by telephone conversations on the gas crisis with the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kozak, Maia Sandu stressed that under normal conditions the government and even more so the President should not participate in negotiations between two commercial enterprises. “When prices began to rise to unacceptable levels, it became clear that the government should deal with this issue, because this is a very serious issue. Therefore, I called Mr. Kozak several times, we talked about these issues, so the Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development went to Russia. On the other hand, both I and Prime Minister talked with our partners in other countries to look for a solution, as we needed gas since we did not receive the entire gas volumes. I talked to everyone, and everyone really wanted to help us and did everything they could,” said the President of the Republic of Moldova. While answering the question whether Russia can be ranked among Moldova's friends, she noted: “Friendship occurs when there is mutual respect. Today I see this mutual respect, and I hope that it will continue. During this crisis, there were a lot of accusations, telling that the Moldovan people are like this, and the Russian people are like that. It does not help. So, we solved the crisis, still, the aftertaste remains. I want the Russians who live in Russia to understand that we are a friendly people. I want the Moldovans who live in Russia not to suffer because of this, or the Russians who live in Moldova not to suffer because of the statements that simply embroil our peoples. It is very important for us to create a consolidated society here in Moldova. I would like us to be more attentive when we discuss delicate issues, so as not to harm the process of consolidation of the society and so as not to emboil the people of Moldova with the people of Russia”. // 01.11.2021 – InfoMarket
