Foreign Ministry: Moldova has not fulfilled a single gas agreement since 2021

Moldova has not fulfilled a single agreement reached with Gazprom in 2021. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, transmits “RIA News”.

“The corresponding protocol was signed [в 2021 г.]. In fact, not a single agreement has been fulfilled by the Moldovan authorities,” Galuzin noted.

The Deputy Foreign Minister recalled that in October 2021, following the results of negotiations, the Russian side actually accepted all of Chisinau’s proposals. In addition, Moscow has repeatedly demonstrated its readiness to take into account the interests of Moldova in the gas sector, he added.

Galuzin noted that the audit report on which Chisinau is based when it speaks of “the actual absence of debt” does not correspond to international standards. He noted that the words of Moldovan President Maia Sandu that she is not concerned about the lack of agreement on the audit report “does not change anything.”

According to Gazprom, Moldovagaz’s debt for gas supplied amounts to $433 million, and taking into account late payments – $709 million. At the same time, the Ministry of Energy of Moldova announced in early September that the government of the republic is ready to pay Gazprom only $8.6 million Sandu claimedthat the audit was carried out by “recognized international companies in this field.”

After this, the Russian side stated, that Moldovagaz did not approve the audit report of Moldova’s gas debt due to doubts about its reliability and independence. Sandu notedthat the decision of the supervisory board of Moldovagaz did not surprise her, since “Gazprom» is a shareholder of the company.

The leader of Moldova also blamed the Russian Federation for the reduction in gas supplies, the conflict in Ukraine and alleged attempts to overthrow the government in Chisinau. She stated that Moldova has no common topics for discussion with Russia. In response, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called Sandu’s statements a lie. “We have a huge number of obligations and projects. Perhaps Maia Sandu simply does not associate herself with Moldova,” said she.