PREMIER APPREHENDS LEST MOLDOVA SHOULD BE NOT ABLE TO RECEIVE RUSSIAN NATURAL GAS THIS WINTER

Moldovan Prime Minister Maya Sandu believes there is a probability that Moldova may stop receiving Russian natural gas this winter namely from January 2020.

Sandu said over the Moldova-1 public television channel last night that such scenario will become a reality if Russia and Ukraine fail to reach an agreement on the Russian fuel transit through the Ukrainian territory. However, the Premier called citizens not to worry because “the Government is already preparing to such a scenario”.

“We have some technical solutions. One of them is to purchase gas from Ukraine and to store it in Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities. But the thing is: the storage volume, which Ukraine can offer, is insufficient for providing the fuel for the whole territory of Moldova”, said Maia Sandu.

In her words, the Iasi-Chisinau gas pipeline construction works should be completed in the Moldovan territory by the end of this year, and the Romanian segment – by March 2020, “so we should not count on the Romanian gas this winter”.

As was already reported by Infotag, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, while on a visit to Chisinau this past August, stated that “there is no big risk for gas transit through Ukraine” and “we have enough grounds to say that the gas supply to Moldova will be continued all right”.

And Moldova President Igor Dodon stated shortly later that preliminary accords had already been reached between the Russian Gazprom Concern and the Moldovagaz [Moldova-Russia joint company]. He also stated that Moldova should not buy gas and store it in foreign underground facilities because it is inefficient and will require to take credits. He voiced confidence that Russia and Ukraine will eventually bargain on the question of Russian gas transit to Europe through Ukraine and Moldova.