The crisis cell created to hold talks with Gazprom and to identify alternative gas supply sources was led by President Maia Sandu, said ex-Premier Ion Sturza. According to him, the huge support enjoyed by the President at foreign level inclined the balance in favor of a contract with Gazprom, based on an advantageous formula. Sturza stated the signing of the contract became possible after Angela Merkel intervened in favor of the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.
Former Prime Minister Ion Sturza noted President Maia Sandu coordinated the team that handled the energy crisis and the support shown by the European states to the Republic of Moldova made Moscow accept the old price calculation formula.
“The cell crisis was managed by Maia Sandu and she coped very well with the task. First of all, a lot of fuss was made at international level. All the external visits and the foreign policy agenda played a positive role. They came into contact with Erdogan and Aliev up to the White House and Merkel. After a meeting of Merkel and later of Putin with Miller, a miracle occurred. Moldova played very well the role of a small country that is humiliated by the Russian Federation, including amid the discussions related to Russia’s involvement in the upsurge in energy prices, and this helped us a lot,” Ion Sturza stated in the talk show “In Depth“ on ProTV Chisinau channel.
Even if the government repeatedly announced that it goes to a commercial relationship between Gazprom and Molovagaz and the negotiations focused strictly on economic aspects, the ex-Premier said he considers the discussions with Gazprom were political in character. Sturza noted the functionality of the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline offered maneuvering space to Moldova at the talks.
“Not the contract is negotiated with Gazprom, if only the formula. The message is political and didn’t need to come from Kozak. The message (to Gazprom chief Alexey Miller, e.n.) came from a higher level. If the Socialists had been in power, we would have had a much worse price. Owing to the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline, it became clear that the Republic of Moldova no longer depends on the old infrastructure. This pipeline, even if its capacity is not spectacular, satisfies the needs of the right bank (during a particular period of the year, e.n.). From technical viewpoint, Moldova does not face problems in bringing gas from other sources than Russia. It also became evident that the keys to the Transnistrian conflict are no longer in Moscow, but are in Chisinau,” stated Ion Sturza.
On October 29, SA Moldovagaz and Gazprom signed a five-year contract for the purchase and supply of gas. The price calculation formula wasn’t made public given the commercial secret, but Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu said the purchase price for November is about US$450 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas.
