Gazprom suspends gas supply to Moldova over unpaid debt
Gazprom has officially confirmed today that it will suspend natural gas deliveries to the Republic of Moldova, starting on January 1, 2025, at 7:00 AM.
In a notification sent to Moldovagaz, in which it holds a majority stake, the Russian energy giant cited Moldova's refusal to pay its debts for gas deliveries and claimed that this constitutes a "significant" violation of the existing contract. Gazprom has avoided specifying how long it will keep its decision to suspend deliveries in place, but suggested that it might reconsider and will notify Moldovagaz.
"Gazprom reserves all rights, including the right to unilaterally terminate the contract and the right to seek compensation from Moldovagaz for all losses and payment of penalties for non-fulfillment and/or improper fulfillment of Moldovagaz’s contractual obligations," the Russian gas supplier added.
Meanwhile, the press from the left bank of the Dniester reports that gas disconnections began this morning in several localities. Starting at 9:00 AM, gas disconnections were initiated for certain categories of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.
In September 2023, Chișinău presented the results of an external audit regarding the alleged historical debt accumulated by the country to the Russian giant Gazprom for natural gas deliveries. On one hand, Gazprom claims that the debt amounts to over 700 million dollars – a figure rejected by Chișinău. On the other hand, the audit results indicated that a large portion of the amount requested by Moscow is not supported by official documents. Consequently, in 2023, Chișinău offered the Russian conglomerate 8.6 million dollars of the requested amount.
After the audit results were made public, both Prime Minister Dorin Recean and President Maia Sandu stated that the Republic of Moldova has no intention of paying debts that do not exist.
In response, Gazprom stated that it "strongly disagrees with the Moldovan claims and intends to continue defending its rights by all available means." It should be noted that the audit results were not recognized by Moldovagaz, the Gazprom subsidiary in Moldova.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
