It is disastrous communication between representatives of the Government and society, said the leader of the Party of Change Ștefan Gligor, referring to the reemergence of the energy crisis after Gazprom threatened it will stop gas supplies to Moldova. Gligor expressed his indignation at the fact that the Executive ignored the contract provision by which Chisinau undertook to clear the debts for October and the advance for November. For their part, representatives of the government assure that Moldova will not remain without natural gas, IPN reports.
The leader of the Party of Change Ștefan Gligor said a condition stipulated clearly in the purchase contract with Gazprom should not take the government by surprise. Aspects related to Moldova’s energy security should not be left aside and the necessary amounts of money should have been allocated by the Commission for Emergencies during the state of emergency.
“The contract that continues to be kept secret stipulates that the payment must be done on the 20th day of each month. By point 8 of the protocol signed by Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu, the Republic of Moldova committed itself to take a decision as to the allocation of financial resources for paying the difference between the purchase price and the gas rates for October and November. It was an obligation undertaken by representatives of the Government. So, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise for us. It is regrettable that they waited up to the last second. It is disastrous communication between representatives of the Government and society,” Ștefan Gligor stated in the program “Freedom” on TV8 channel.
For its part, the government assures that the citizens of the Republic of Moldova will not remain without natural gas and shifts the responsibility onto Moldovagaz, which didn’t inform about its debts beforehand.
“We have talks with an unequal partner. The negotiations are difficult and the process is managed with difficulty, but every effort is made to avoid complete collapse. The people will not remain without gas, heating and electricity. They will be protected. I do not want to describe this announcement as a threat as the talks are trying and I do not want to fuel them with interpretations. We must overcome winter, learn the lesson that hasn’t been learned for 30 years, ensure authentic energy independence by building the interconnection with the European gas and electricity network and go on. Moldovagaz didn’t learn yesterday that it was unable to pay this debt on time,” said PAS MP Dumitru Alaiba.
Moldovagaz accumulated current debts totaling over US$74 million to Gazprom because the purchase price of gas in October was over US$790 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas and the gas rate for October didn’t ‘t cover the difference. Moldovagaz on November 22 was issued with a notice warning it to pay the debt during 48 hours or Gazprom will halt the supply of natural gas.
