Lawmakers in Moldova's Gagauzia autonomy ask Russia for free gas

CHISINAU. Feb 8 (Interfax). - Members of the People's Assembly of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia in southern Moldova have written to the Russian president asking to send in natural gas separately from the rest of the country, one of them said.

"We have asked the Russian authorities to provide our population with a kind of humanitarian aid. The Russian people have always extended a helping hand and provided support in times of crisis when things looked dire. We think such a delivery [separately from Moldova] is possible," Viktor Petrov told a briefing on Tuesday.

"Russia could supply Gagauzia with gas either at a special price or free of charge as humanitarian aid. Alternatively, Russia could pay our people compensations covering gas payment fully or in part," he said.

Copies of the letter to the Russian president were also sent to his administration's deputy chief Dmitry Kozak, Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov and the head of Gazprom , Alexei Miller.

Earlier, Moldovagaz' chief executive Vadim Ceban said that, "direct gas supplies to the Gagauzia autonomy were possible in theory but not in practice."

"I think colleagues in Gagauzia should study very carefully how the natural-gas market works, not only in Moldova, but in other countries too," Ceban said.

Moldovagaz and Gazprom signed a five-year contract effective from November 1, 2021. Under the new agreement, the rate for consumers was raised by a factor of 2.4. However, the price hike since the year began turned out insufficient. The price per 1,000 cubic meters was $450 in November, $550 in December, and $647 in January. Late last month, the Moldovan energy regulator decided to raise the tariff by a further 40%.