Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Adrian Candu assured that Moldova will be supplied with natural gas in the full amount in winter and the price of gas may even decrease, IPN reports.
In the program “Replica” on Prime TV channel, Adrian Candu said that as a result of the talks they had with representatives of Russia’s gas company Gazprom in Moscow, it was decided that the contract for the supply of natural gas to Moldova will be extended before November 1. The price of 1,000 cubic meters of gas may be reduced by US$5.
The Deputy Prime Minister added that Moldova has historical debts of US$336 million lei for natural gas, but Gazprom put forward no condition as regards the immediate settlement of these debts. “In the near future, we will work out a plan for paying these debts in installments. These are our debts and we must repay them, even if they are historical debts,” he said.
He also said that immediately after the winter holidays, the Government will initiate talks on a new contract for the supply of gas with Gazprom. “We need to sign a new contract and to negotiate the price of gas especially because our country’s dependence on the Russian gas diminished after the construction of the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline. Now we will only extend the contract as the winter is close and the elections are coming and we should also not neglect the crisis in Ukraine,” stated Andrian Candu.
In the same program, dean at the Academy of Economic Studies Dorin Vaculovschi said it is quite improbable that Russia will stop supplying gas to Europe and that Ukraine will ban its transportation. “They are two interested sides – the buyer and the seller. In case of misunderstandings, both of the sides will sustain losses. There were earlier problems related to the transportation of gas through Ukraine, but they were solved,” he stated.
