Moldova, on the right bank of the Dniester River, will no longer purchase gas from the Russian energy giant Gazprom, stated Victor Parlicov, the Moldovan Minister of Energy, on Monday, October 2nd. He was referring to the areas of the country controlled by the capital, Chisinau, and not the separatist region of Transnistria. His statements have been picked up by international media outlets. Furthermore, Russia has not remained silent in response.
Minister Victor Parlicov’s statements suggest that the country, one of the poorest in Europe, has strengthened its independence from Russian gas. Moldova, controlled by Chisinau, which includes a significant portion of the country’s territory and population, stopped buying gas from Gazprom in December 2022. However, at that time, it was unclear if the decision would be permanent, as reported by Reuters.
Minister Victor Parlicov stated that Moldova has managed to procure gas from European suppliers at a better price than what Gazprom offered. Nevertheless, the country continues to purchase electricity generated by the power plant in Transnistria, specifically the one in Cuciurgan, which uses Gazprom gas. The minister did not indicate any plans to change this arrangement.
“We will no longer purchase natural gas from Gazprom for the territory controlled by the constitutional authorities (in Chisinau),” Parlicov declared during a conference in Bucharest, via video link.
The Russian company Gazprom still supplies 5.7 million cubic meters of gas per day to Transnistria, a territory supported by Russia that violently separated from Chisinau’s leadership after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
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Moldova has repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Bilateral relations are also strained by the presence of Russian peacekeeping troops in Transnistria.
The announcement by the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Moldova comes amid a commercial conflict between Gazprom and the energy authorities in Chisinau. Last month, the regulatory authority for energy in the Republic of Moldova, ANRE, fined Moldovatransgaz, a subsidiary of the Russian company Gazprom, $1.9 million for failing to comply with a requirement to separate gas transportation activities from supply.
Additionally, on September 6th, Moldova declared that it owed Gazprom $8.6 million for gas, which is only a fraction of the $709 million claimed by the Russian monopoly. Gazprom, controlled by the Kremlin, has stated that it will continue to fight for its claims.
Moldova, a former Soviet republic, used to purchase Russian natural gas, but Gazprom and its Moldovan subsidiary announced at the end of 2021 that Chisinau had accumulated debts of hundreds of millions of dollars. Minister of Energy Victor Parlicov stated that an international audit showed that the state-owned natural gas distributor Moldovagaz owed only $8.6 million, and his government “has no intention of paying non-existent debts.”
Subsequently, Gazprom announced that it “strongly disagreed with the Moldovan party’s claims and intends to continue defending its rights through all possible means.” The Kremlin-controlled company had estimated Moldova’s debt at $709 million a year ago, but the amount could be higher with added penalties.
President Maia Sandu, for her part, said that the audit had disproved Gazprom’s claims. She had previously stated that Moldova had no debts to Gazprom for natural gas.