Former Prime Minister Ion Chicu said the provision of the protocol signed with Gazprom, according to which the Government assumes responsibility for the debts owed by Moldovagaz, is a reason for taking legal action. Moreover, he rejected Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu’s accusation that Igor Dodon, Ion Chicu and Ion Perju aimed to assume the debt of the Transnistrian region while forming part of the administration. Chicu said that he will sue Grosu for such an assertion, IPN reports.
Speaker Igor Grosu earlier said that a trio - Dodon, Chicu and Perju – through the agency of an instrument called Perju in 2020 signed a protocol of the so-called intergovernmental commission by which they accepted the idea of assuming the debts of the Transnistrian region. Ex-Premier Chicu denied the accusation and threatened Grosu with a lawsuit.
“If such an attempt had been made and we had committed such an act of treason, I wouldn’t have been now in a TV studio as Chicu on their agenda is the first who should be jailed. I will sue Igor Grosu when the courts of law are free. How can we assume the debts of the Transnistrian side? It’s true that the Moldovan-Russian intergovernmental commission discussed the gas issue but this does not mean that someone assumed these debts,” Ion Chicu stated in the talk show “Résumé with Ileana Pîrgaru” on RliveTV channel.
The subject of the Transnistrian region’s debts became topical again after the Committee for Unity and Welfare demanded to investigate the officials who negotiated the contract with Gazprom in 2021. According to experts of the Committee, in 2006 the contract stipulated the possibility of signing contracts with Gazprom-Transgaz directly, avoiding the necessity of dealing with the debts of the left side. Under the new changes made in the contract, Moldovagaz authorizes gas supplies without having guarantees that the supplied amounts will be paid for. Ex-Premier Ion Chicu also said the way in which the contract with Gazprom was negotiated is dubious and the prosecutors should examine the situation.
“There is a modification in the contract, which was signed and supported by Andrei Spînu. Now the supplies for Tiraspoltransgaz, which go to the left side, are made the burden of Moldovagaz. We wait for the official reaction of Moldovagaz as this provision can be treated as assumption of responsibility for the debts of the left side by Moldovagaz. Besides the modification that was also noted by experts of IDIS “Viitorul”, there is also the signed protocol. Point 8 of the protocol makes the Government bear responsibility for what Moldovagaz cannot pay and this means we need to pay these debts from the state budget. This is a reason for taking legal action. I hope the responsible bodies are working in this direction,” stated Ion Chicu.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu said the Committee for Unity and Welfare’s accusations over the debts of the Transnistrian region are unwitting and deceitful assertions.
