Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlikov called the issue of Russian gas supplies to the region not only economic, but also political. According to him, now there are all prerequisites for the continuation of gas supplies, however, certain conditions were announced to him at Gazprom.
In particular, Gazprom is ready to supply gas to Transnistria via an alternative route through Turkey, after Ukraine stops transit from January 1, 2025. The energy stability of Moldova itself directly depends on this, since the MoldGRES (Inter RAO enterprise) located there generates about 90% of electricity for the Right Bank.
"However, the Russian side made it clear that this issue is related to the payment of Moldovagaz's historical debt. Moldova recognizes the results of the international audit, which showed that the debt is $ 8.6 million. The Russian side does not agree with the conclusions (according to Gazprom's calculations, the actual debt of the Republic of Moldova is more than $ 757 million). Now they have to present their vision. I am waiting for an official document," Parlikov said.
He added that no one wants destabilization in the region. At the same time, the risk of a gas crisis on the left bank of the Dniester remains quite real, as does the energy vulnerability of the Right Bank.
"I don't think it's fair to condition deliveries on the solution of a historical problem, because these alleged debts are historical. Today there are no more debts on the right bank. And this problem should be treated as such," Parlikov said.
The Moldovan official also explained that Gazprom was responsible for possible negotiations with Kiev on extending the transit permit to Chisinau.
"We have already discussed this with the Ukrainian side and understand that this decision may be made at the last minute. Of course, it would be a much simpler scenario for us — and we have informed the Ukrainian side about this — if transit through Ukraine were continued. But everyone knows that there are alternative routes and the purpose of the visit to St. Petersburg was to make sure that Gazprom will fulfill its obligations after January 1, regardless of whether it is in transit through Ukraine or not," Viktor Parlikov explained.
Recall that the payment of the historical debt to Gazprom was one of the conditions for concluding a five-year contract in October 2021, as was the timely payment of the current volume received. Chisinau disrupted the timely settlement several times, and attracted companies with a dubious reputation (the Norwegian Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS and the British Forensic Risk Alliance) for the audit without coordinating them with the Russian side. As a result, Moldova's historical debt was unreasonably underestimated by 100 times, which Gazprom categorically disagrees with.