Moldova’s Cabinet of Ministers Refused to Help Moldovagaz to Repay the Debt to Gazprom

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said at a briefing on Tuesday that the government of the republic helped Moldovagaz to repay the debt to Gazprom for October, but in the future the company must cope with payments itself. Earlier, the head of Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, said that the company had fully settled with Gazprom for the gas received in November, but by December 20 it is also necessary to pay half of the cost of natural gas consumed in December. Meanwhile, Moldovagaz asks non-domestic consumers to consider the possibility of an advance payment for gas received in the first half of December, so that there is no new debt to Gazprom, ria.ru reports “In the protocol that was signed (with Gazprom in October - ed.), the payment for October was stipulated, further on Moldovagaz company is responsible for ensuring payments to Gazprom,” Gavrilita said, answering the question whether the government will help in case of a repeat of the problem with the repayment to Gazprom. Earlier, the government explained that they had allocated funds to repay the debt that arose due to the tariff increase, but the authorities are not ready to provide financial support to Moldovagaz on a permanent basis. On October 29, Gazprom and Moldovagaz, after lengthy negotiations, extended the gas supply contract for a period of 5 years, starting from November 1. The conditions turned out to be favorable for the Moldovan side – about $ 430 per thousand cubic meters of natural gas, while prices on the market reach a thousand dollars. Gazprom stated that, taking into account the situation in the Republic of Moldova, it was decided to sign the contract practically on the terms of the Moldovan side, but on condition of timely 100% payment of current bills. Point