Gavrilita: Gazprom Is a Major, Serious Company, Payments Could Have Been Postponed

The Moldovan government regards as an unfriendly gesture the ultimatum letter from Gazprom, in which the Russian concern announced the termination of gas supplies if the money does not arrive in Russia before January 21, 9:00 a.m. According to Natalia Gavrilita, even commercial relations may feature more goodwill, but Gazprom has not shown willingness to cooperate. The Prime Minister said that Moldovagaz JSC has transferred the full cost of gas consumed in December and 50% of the advance payment for January, which means that there is no cause for concern yet, ipn.md notes. Prime Minister Gavrilita explained that the introduction of a state of emergency and the transfer of funds in favor of Moldovagaz were decisions designed to prevent the termination of gas supplies in the middle of winter, in conditions when Gazprom sent an ultimatum letter to Chisinau, threatening the authorities to shut off the valve. “Gazprom is a big, serious company, the payment of these $ 25 million could have been postponed for 10 days, for a month. In our opinion, with minimal willingness to cooperate, commercial solutions could be found. We perceive this as an unfriendly gesture, at least this letter that we received very clearly stated that if payments were not made by the 20th, then on the 21st, at 9 o’clock in the morning, flows would be terminated. This letter is unfriendly in conditions when we fulfilled the protocol agreements, compensated citizens for a significant part of the tariff,” Natalia Gavrilita said on the air of the program Cabinetul din umbră on the JurnalTV channel. Natalia Gavrilita does not exclude the possibility of raising gas tariffs amid the ongoing high purchase price. The Prime Minister assures that the government is preparing a new compensation package for citizens so that the burden of increased bills will not be too heavy for people. “The way the compensation mechanism was conceived is based on the proportion: if the tariff increases, the amount of compensation immediately increases. We have several scenarios, and we will act depending on how much the tariff increases. First you need to see how much Moldovagaz requires, which tariff ANRE will agree to, and we will provide additional compensation. We will do everything to ensure that citizens do not feel a new increase in tariffs,” Natalia Gavrilita said. Yesterday, Moldovagaz JSC fully transferred to Gazprom the payment for gas delivered in the first half of January. The transfer amount was US$ 34.3 million, it was the final tranche of $ 63 million for gas consumed in December and 50% of the cost of gas consumed in January. The transfer of money to Gazprom became possible thanks to the allocated 469 million lei by the government as an advance payment to compensate the population for gas and thanks to postponement of VAT payment to the state budget. Point