"Tiraspol is ready to take gas in Europe" — Moldovagaz does not know about the return of Gazprom

Natural Gaz D.C. gas transportation company has signed a framework contract with Tiraspoltransgaz for the supply of gas to Transnistria. This was told today, January 15, by the co-owner of the Moldovan enterprise Arkady Vicol. According to him, we are talking about European gas, which will be purchased on stock exchanges and delivered to the Left Bank for money.

"We do not supply Russian gas and do not buy Russian gas. We buy gas in Europe and supply it to end users. If Tiraspol expresses a desire to work with us. This gas will be purchased at European sites and delivered to Tiraspol. It provides for the payment of gas and VAT on gas imports in Moldova," Vicol said.

We are talking about the volume of 2 to 3 million cubic meters of gas per day. He found it difficult to answer when the gas supply will be, noting that we are still talking about a framework agreement.

Since January 1 of this year, the supply of Russian gas to Moldova has been stopped due to the fact that Ukraine blocked the transit to Gazprom, and the Chisinau authorities refused to recognize the debt to the Russian concern of $ 709 million. Currently, Pridnestrovie is going through an energy crisis: enterprises are stopped, there is no heat and hot water in houses, there are rolling blackouts of electricity.

The President of Pridnestrovie Vadim Krasnoselsky visited Moscow yesterday, where he discussed the issue of a way out of the current situation on the basis of the Russian Ministry of Energy. According to him, in the very near future the gas supply "in the form of humanitarian and technical assistance" will be resumed. He did not disclose the details and technical aspects of this agreement.

Earlier, the Moldovan authorities had already offered Transnistria assistance with gas purchases at market prices in the EU, but in Tiraspol refused in the hope of resuming supplies from Russia.

As reported by EADaily, in Chisinau they say that they do not know how and under what conditions gas can begin to flow to Transnistria. Moldovagaz also assured that they do not know anything about the resumption of supplies from Gazprom.

"We do not have any information from Gazprom, we carry out commercial deliveries and are not engaged in humanitarian deliveries," Vadim Cheban, acting head of the gas distribution company, confirmed, adding that the company had requested relevant information from Tiraspoltransgaz.

He noted that under the terms of the contract, Gazprom is obliged to notify Moldovagaz of the resumption of supplies within 48 hours and only they can legally supply blue fuel to the region.