OREANDA-NEWS. At a meeting of the Moldovan emergency commission on the situation on the gas market, it was decided to apply to Gazprom with a request to postpone the advance payment for January, the press service of the Moldovan government said on Wednesday, January 12.

The basis for this decision was the reports of Moldovagaz and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development. They confirmed that there were difficulties with full payment of bills to the supplier, which is associated with an increase in gas prices in January against the background of the preservation of the previously approved tariff.

“Thus, there is a risk that natural gas supplies will be cut off if payments are not made in accordance with the terms of the contract. Therefore, according to one of the decisions of the commission, Moldovagaz will ask Gazprom about the possibility of extending the deadline for paying bills until the end of January, ”the statement says.

This week, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu tried to settle the issue with the head of Gazprom. He said that on January 10 he spoke on the phone with Alexei Miller, asking him to defer advance payments. According to Spinu, by the end of the week, Moldovagaz will pay Gazprom for the consumed gas for December, however, in order to fulfill its financial obligations on gas supplies in January, about $ 25 million is not enough.

He also said that the purchase price for gas for Moldova increased from $ 450 per 1,000 cubic meters. m in December to $ 646 in January. In order to pay off with Gazprom on time, Moldovagaz is considering raising the tariff as an additional measure.

“We are in a difficult position. The gas crisis did not end in November or December. It will end when prices finally fall at the European level. The gas crisis is not a crisis of Moldova, but of the entire European space, which directly affects our country. People are looking with concern at the rise in gas tariffs. We will do our best to find alternatives, ”Spynu commented on the situation.

In October, after lengthy negotiations, the Russian and Moldovan sides renewed the gas supply contract for a period of five years starting from November 1. The conditions turned out to be favorable for Moldova - about $ 430 per thousand cubic meters of blue fuel, while market prices reach thousands of dollars. However, in the future, the crisis of non-payments may repeat itself.

Representatives of Moldovagaz and Gazprom are planning to assemble a supervisory board to promptly resolve this issue. The meeting is due next week.