Former MPs and political commentators say the Government’s decision to ask Parliament to declare a state of emergency in the energy sector is a consequence of the irresponsibility of the former governments, while Russia uses the energy resources to achieve its geopolitical desiderata. According to representatives of the government, if prompt action is not taken to purchase natural gas from alternative sources, the residential consumers and large enterprises can remain without gas, IPN reports.
Representatives of the government said the authorities’ decision to declare a state of emergency was imperative at a time when the pressure in natural gas pipes decreases. PAS MPs said the Republic of Moldova in October pays US$790 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas, but Russia does not supply the necessary volumes.
“This is a technical decision that will enable the Government to purchase gas directly, from alternative sources, through the agency of Energocom, so as to cover the deficit of 33% in networks. In October, of the 80 million cubic meters of gas that were to be supplied, only 76% were delivered and the pressure in pipes is now close to the lowest limit. There is an imminent risk that household users and companies will remain without gas if the pressure in pipes is not increased,” PAS MP Alexandru Trubca stated in the talk show “Ghețu Asks” on TV8 channel.
Some of the former MPs consider the government’s decision to look for alternative sources of gas is late as an eventual failure of the talks with Russia was predictable since the PAS majority took over.
“They should have started to look for alternative sources immediately as Russia’s behavior could have been anticipated. The political cudgel is the real face of the Russian gas and we should have moved much faster. We could have followed the example of the Baltic countries that went through similar situations and overcame them by solidarity and by realizing that exclusive dependence on one source is dangerous for the state. We are reaping the harvest of the irresponsibility of the previous governments,” said ex-MP Iurie Reniță.
“A lot of time was wasted. I hope the government will manage to solve the problem and it will be warm in homes in winter. But the situation should be later investigated so that we see why it was reached,” said former MP Liviu Vovc.
Political analyst Anatol Țăranu is sure that the political and geopolitical aspects prevailed over the technical and pecuniary details in the talks between Chisinau and Moscow.
“In the meeting of Igor Grosu and Matveenko, we were clearly told that Russia is dissatisfied with the fact that Maia Sandu didn’t take part in the Crimea Platform summit. Russia uses Gazprom to achieve geopolitical goals. Our positions in the talks with Russia are weak even if we can insist on particular points, such as Transnistria. Furthermore, the Republic of Moldova is yet part of CIS and Russia is interested in keeping CIS. Any deterioration of the CIS mechanism is detrimental to Russia. The question is, why don’t we use this aspect?” asked Țăranu.
According to the Russian press, the negotiations in Moscow that involved Deputy Prime Ministers Kulminski and Spinu didn’t produce any result. The Russian side reportedly asked Chisinau to repay, during there years, the historical debts accumulated by Moldova to Gazprom, while the Moldovan side asked for a twice lower price than the market price of gas.
