President Sandu has rejected Russian claims that it is trying to blackmail Moscow into offering gas at a lower price.
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) with Moldovan President Maia Sandu (R) in Chisinau, Moldova, June 15, 2022. Photo: EPA/Yoan Valat
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Moldova pays large sums of money for Russian gas – and the country’s intentions to join the EU have been known for years.
“I see no connection between gas supplies and our intention to become a candidate country for EU membership. We have wanted this for a long time, and have been announcing our intention for many years. We have also made commitments to apply for EU membership,” Sandu declared on Thursday.
Sandu was responding to Lavrov’s claim that Moldova wants cheap Russian gas, does not pay on time, and is threatening Moscow with EU membership.
She stated that under the present contract with Gazprom, Moldova pays dear and on time for its gas consumption.
“Moldova is an independent and sovereign country, and its citizens said that they want to live in a free country, in a state that respects them, where wealth can be built,” she added.
Lavrov on Thursday told Russian television station NTV that the West is starting to make Moldova “a second Ukraine”.
“They [the Moldovans] say ‘the Russians must give us gas reductions and postpone payments. It’s begging and extortion to say that if you don’t provide us [cheap gas], we’re going to the EU faster. [Even] if you do, we’re still going to the EU, but slower.”
“So the EU is working very hard to force Moldova, which is not yet an EU candidate, to open a second front,” said Lavrov.
Moldova signed an extension of its contract with Gazprom for five more years on October 29, 2021. Prices are calculated according to a price formula but are higher than before.
Russia has also repeatedly threatened to halt gas supplies if bills are not paid on time every month and in advance, which Moldova has been doing since late last year.
The price of gas has varied since last year from 350 dollars to almost 1,000 per thousand cubic meters. In previous years, Moldova paid from 100 to 200 dollars per thousand cubic meters.
There is also the possibility that Gazprom could cancel this contract over a dispute over an alleged debt of $709 million that the Russian company claims Moldova-base gas company Moldovagaz owes.
Moldova believes the debt is exaggerated and wants to carry out a financial audit of Moldovagaz, but Gazprom has been blocking this.
Moldovagaz is a subsidiary of Gazprom in which the Russian concern controls the majority stake of about 63 per cent, while the Moldovan Economy Ministry owns 35 per cent.
Source link: balkaninsight.com
