Gas supply contract for Moldova to be signed by yearend

The contract on natural gas supply to Moldova for a minimum 5-year term will be signed until December 25. Premier Vasile Tarlev gave this assurance Wednesday, December 13, mentioning that “Gazprom” promised to sign the agreement till the named date, Info-Prim Neo reports. On Wednesday, Deputy Chairman of the “Gazprom” Management Committee Valeri Golubev, arrived in Chisinau on a work visit. He is engaged in talks regarding the signing of the gas supplies contract, says Premier. In the same context, co-president of the Moldovan-Turkish economic cooperation Commission Andrei Fursenco is expected to pay a visit to Chisinau by the end of this week. He will come to Moldova to finalize the protocol of the eighth session of the Moldovan–Russian Commission that was held in Moscow on November 27. Asked to disclose the price of the future gas supplies to Moldova, Tarlev just said that the Government insists at present on a price not higher than the current one – USD 160 per 1 thousand cu m. “The sellers always ask a higher price, while the buyers offer a lower one”, Premier exemplified the course of the talks with “Gazprom”, at the same time saying that when negotiating the price it is taken into account the fact that the relations between Moldova and “Gazprom” is not just a relation between a buyer and a seller, but also a business partnership within “Moldova-Gaz” JSC. During a meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Voronin, earlier in November, the sides agreed upon the principles of settling gas related issues, without disclosing them. Russian President specified that the relations as concerns the sphere of energy, between Moldova and Russia will be built on the basis of the principles of market economy, satisfying the interests of both parties. Voronin said in turn that the Moldovan side has worked out certain investment projects that will be proposed to the Russian company “Gazprom” with a view to performing certain joint investments in developing the energy sector in Moldova, but did not give details about these projects. Starting the second half of this year, the natural gas is delivered to Moldova at a price of USD 160 per 1 thousand cu m.