The purchase price of gas that was raised by over US$200 in January divides the camps on the political arena in Chisinau. Representatives of the government said they follow the tendencies on the international market and expect the prices to go down, while the extraparliamentary opposition demands that President Maia Sandu and Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu should go to the Russian Federation to renegotiate the contract with Gazprom, IPN reports.
Political commentators said the energy crisis faced by Moldovan was predictable as Russia uses the gas as a geopolitical instrument to strengthen its influence in Europe.
“The Russian Federation plays harshly and aims to put Nord Stream 2 into operation as a priority. It wants guarantees that it will have influence in Ukraine and felt that the moment is now opportune. The Russian Federation profits from the pandemic with its negative repercussions and from the shortage of natural gas on the European market, while the Republic of Moldova is caught in this geopolitical game. In this context, our team analyzed very well the situation and established that the contract negotiated for the Republic of Moldova wasn’t the best one,” political commentator Ion Tăbârță stated in the program “Ghețu Asks” on TV8 channel.
Former MP Vitalia Pavlicenco said that by the energy crisis caused in the Republic of Moldova, Moscow punished the government for its European aspirations.
“When the governments in the Republic of Moldova were pro-Russian, of the left, they always enjoyed concessions related to the price. Moscow, evidently, uses the price of gas as a geopolitical instrument. It surely goes to political conditions. We have the Transnistrian region. They do not want Romania to be extended over the Prut, the union with Romania, so that we do not enter NATO. The gas is used to prevent the Republic of Moldova from aspiring to the European Union. Ukraine was also warned in this regard,” said ex-MP Vitalia Pavlichenko.
For their part, representatives of the extraparliamentary opposition demand to renegotiate the contract with Gazprom by learning from the experience of the former Governments in Chisinau that managed to negotiate a better price of gas and also from the experience of the European states that obtained advantageous contracts with Russia.
“The price of gas depends on the situation on the international market, but this is only a fragment of the reality. No one speaks about the other side of the reality. The price of gas is the subject of a contract, not of God’s wish and the government should wake up. Sandu and Spînu should leave for Moscow and should return from there only after they renegotiate the contract as there are enough such precedents and opportunities. Other heads of state did it,” said the representative of the Civic Congress Iurie Muntean.
“The gas crisis has a regional context. It is a situation that exerts pressure on the citizens, but the tendency on the internal market is analyzed and a downward trend is seen. The price could go down. We are considering a number of scenarios and will act depending on the developments,” said PAS MP Igor Chiriac.
In accordance with the contract signed with Gazprom, the Republic of Moldova by the date of 20 of each month should pay for the gas consumed the previous month and an advance of 50% for the current month. If the payments are not made during 48 hours, Gazprom can halt the supplies.
