Moldova interested in preserving gas supply contract with Russia's Gazprom - energy minister

CHISINAU. April 12 (Interfax) - Moldova is interested in preserving a gas supply contract between Moldovagaz and Russia's Gazprom, Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said.

He admitted that, in theory, the contract could be severed at any moment, as both parties have partially breached their obligations under it.

"In legal terms, the gas supply contract is valid, but both parties have partially breached their obligations within the contract's framework. Gazprom can sever the existing contract at any moment, but it has not," Parlicov told journalists on Wednesday.

The Moldovan government failed to meet a deadline for auditing the country's debt to Gazprom in 2022, and in addition, Gazprom informed Moldova in October 2022 of its intention to cut the gas supply to the country to 5.7 million cubic meters per day, Parlicov said. As a result, Moldova has had to buy gas from Europe to cover the shortage, he said.

These breaches entitle both parties to unilaterally terminate the gas contract, which was concluded in October 2021 for five years, Parlicov said. "Moldova is interested in preserving this contract to ensure its energy security, as well as stability in Transdniestria, where volumes of gas from Russia have been redirected to," Parlicov said.

Under the contract with Gazprom, Moldovagaz is supposed to receive 3.3 billion cubic meters of gas a year, including 1.1 billion cubic meters for the right-bank part of the country and 2.2 billion cubic meters for the Transdniestrian region.