As an exception, Gazprom agreed to the request of the Moldovan government not to stop gas supplies to the country from today and to wait until November 26 to pay off the debt.
This was announced by the official representative of the Russian gas holding Sergey Kupriyanov. According to him, the Moldovan side pledged to fully pay the current debt on November 26. “The Moldovan government has asked Gazprom not to stop gas supplies from today. At the same time, the Moldovan side fully recognizes the legitimacy of Gazprom's actions and undertakes to fully make current payments on Friday, November 26 this year. As an exception, Gazprom, showing goodwill and understanding of the difficult situation the citizens of Moldova may find themselves in, agreed to this request, ”said Sergey Kupriyanov. Herewith, the Russian holding firmly counts on Moldova's absolute fulfillment of its contractual obligations in the future and on payment of current payments on time. It should be noted that on November 22, Gazprom notified Moldova of the possible termination of gas supplies in 48 hours due to the lack of payment under the current contract. It was noted that one of the conditions for concluding a new contract was the payment of payments on time. The Moldovagaz company received a notification from Gazprom on the evening of November 22 about the need to pay for the current gas supplies for October and November within 48 hours. The amount of this current debt is $ 74 million 278.4 thousand. Payment obligations were not fulfilled on time by the company due to the fact that in October 2021 the Moldovagaz company experienced a balance of payments deficit as a result of an increase in the purchase price for natural gas in 2021 from $ 126.7 per 1 thousand cubic metersnin the first quarter to $ 800.62 per 1,000 cubic meters. The government got involved in solving the problem. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu noted that due to protracted legal procedures Moldova will not be able to transfer money until November 25 and asked the Russian side for a delay. He explained that the Moldovagaz company will receive 1.4 billion lei from the state budget, provided for Energocom, which will allow it to pay off Gazprom for gas supplies in October and November. However, for this, the parliament must approve on November 25 the amendments to the law on the state budget of the country in the second reading, which will allow the Moldovagaz company on November 26 to allocate the required $ 74 million to pay for gas. Andrei Spinu confirmed that today he received a response from Gazprom to a request to extend the payment deadline for current gas consumption. “Thus, the deadline has been extended until Friday, November 26th. Recall that the Moldovan government has taken all the necessary measures to pay off the accumulated debt for gas for October-November on Friday, ”he said. // 24.11.2021 — InfoMarket.
