“If Russia wanted and if it could offer a lower price for the left bank of the Nistru, this would have happened. Russia has always referred us to the market price, saying that Moldova is a market economy and therefore we can only discuss based on market developments”, stated President Maia Sandu during a press conference, when asked if Chisinau could have gotten a better gas deal from the Kremlin if it played the Tiraspol card better or at all.

The president admitted that she got involved in facilitating the talks on the gas supply agreement. “I talked with Mr. Kozak. I had this discussion to facilitate the negotiations between the Moldovan side and the Russian side, but only in the sense that I wanted these talks to take place sooner rather than later. This was what my discussions were all about.”

“This was what I could legally do to move the process forward, besides the fact that I also discussed with many other foreign partners. Especially when there wasn’t enough pressure in the system, despite the fact that we were paying an exorbitant price in October for the Gazprom gas. So despite this, there was this shortage, and therefore I tried to discuss with a number of presidents in the West, and not only, so that we could solve this supply insufficiency problem”, said Maia Sandu.

“I used relations that I have established over the years with the presidents of foreign countries so at to help the Government find a technical solution for this issue,” added Maia Sandu, avoiding a direct answer as to why she did not meet with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in an attempt to get a better price for Moldova.