We will no longer purchase natural gas from Gazprom for areas under the control of the Moldovan constitutional authorities
– Barlikov said at a conference in Bucharest, according to MTI. He indicated with this wording that the separatist “Dniester Republic” affiliated with Moldova, which receives 5.7 million cubic meters of gas per day from Gazprom, is not taken into account in the decision.
Chisinau had already announced last year that it would suspend its gas purchases from Gazprom, but it is not known how long the decision will remain in effect. In his last statement, Barlikov said that Moldova was able to obtain gas from European suppliers at better prices than Gazprom.
However, the Kremlin reported on Monday that the contracts concluded between Moldova and Gazprom are still valid, especially in light of… The Russian company is demanding more than $700 million from the Chisinau government. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the settlement of open issues.
Moldova continues to buy electricity from the Kosyurgan power plant near the Dniester, which runs on natural gas supplied by Gazprom. Barlikov has given no indication that they will change this.
According to Gazprom’s statement, it receives daily orders from local gas supplier Moldovagaz, which it fulfills using a pipeline system running through Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian company did not mention that the natural gas was destined for the Dniester region.
Cover image source: Olga Rolenko via Getty Images
