OREANDA-NEWS. The leader of the unrecognized Transnistria Vadim Krasnoselsky spoke in favor of direct settlements with Gazprom for the fuel consumed. He stated this on Thursday, November 11, at a press conference, answering a question about the debt of the unrecognized republic for gas, which exceeded $ 7 billion.

“Moldova should legalize these relations and confirm our ability to settle directly with Russia. Therefore, we turned to the Prime Minister of Moldova Natalia Gavrilitsa With a request to issue us a license to form our relations directly with Gazprom. We are waiting for the results, ”Krasnoselsky said.

On the eve of the chairman of the board of the National Association of Oil and Gas Service (NANGS) Viktor Khaikov told Izvestia that the price of $ 430 per 1,000 cubic meters. m of gas, which Moldova is talking about, is lower than the current European market prices, but higher than those at which Chisinau previously bought this resource. According to him, this is probably a discount price that Russia gave in response to “certain steps” by Moldova to improve bilateral socio-economic relations.

Moldova may not have enough money to pay off its debt to Gazprom, said the head of Moldovagaz Vadim Cheban said at a briefing on Wednesday.

Moldova in October 2021 signed an agreement with Gazprom on new gas supplies. One of its points is the gradual debt repayment, including penalties, starting in 2022 after a debt audit. According to Gazprom, Moldova owes $ 709 million. As soon as gas began to flow under the new contract, people in Chisinau immediately began to hint that it was impossible to fulfill their obligations.

“We have a concrete plan to pay off the debt to Gazprom within five years. But internal reserves may not be enough,” Cheban said. In addition, Moldova does not want to pay the debt for Transnistria.

The price of Russian gas in Moldova in December will drop to $ 430 from $ 450 per thousand cubic meters in November. This is 1.7 times less than the current European gas exchange price.

On average, Gazprom supplies gas to Moldova at a price of $ 500-600 per thousand cubic meters. This is twice as much compared to the previous price, which was calculated using a different formula. Under the new agreement, in the first and fourth quarters, Moldova will buy 70% of the volume pegged to oil prices, and 30% at the exchange price. In the second and third quarters, 30% of the gas price will be tied to oil prices, and 70% to the market price of gas