OREANDA-NEWS. Moldovagaz has not yet found a commercial solution to pay off the debt to Gazprom in the amount of $ 74.2 million, said Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure of Moldova Andrei Spinu.

In the period from October 22 to November 20, the Moldovan authorities introduced a state of emergency in the energy sector; on October 29, the contract with Gazprom was extended for five years, subject to payment for 100% of the gas received. Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said on Monday that the company would stop supplying gas to Moldova in 48 hours if it did not receive the payment due on November 22. The head of the Moldovagaz company, Vadim Cheban, said that he had turned to the government and asked for a loan to pay for gas under a contract with Gazprom in the amount of about $ 74 million.

"At the moment, the debt exceeds $ 74.2 million. So far, Moldovagaz has not found a commercial solution to pay off this debt," Spinu wrote on his Facebook page.

He stressed that the debt was created due to the fact that in October gas was purchased at a price of $ 790 per thousand cubic meters, although the tariff included a price of $ 148 per thousand cubic meters. The government is in contact with Moldovagaz to find a way out of this situation.