OREANDA-NEWS. Moldovagaz and Gazprom will extend the contract for gas supplies to Moldova until the end of December. As the press service of the gas distribution company of the republic said on Tuesday, the parties had to agree on an alternative supply route in case of transit cease through the pipeline through Ukraine.

"An agreement to extend the term of the existing gas supply contract between Gazprom and Moldovagaz will be signed before the end of December after agreeing to pay for gas reversal services across Ukraine on the Orlovka-Kaushany section", the statement said. It notes that in this case, Moldova will import gas through the Turkish Stream.

As Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said earlier, following talks with the Prime Minister of Moldova, Ion Kiku, an agreement was reached to extend the contract for the supply of gas and lower its price for the republic from early 2020 to $ 173 per thousand cubic meters. Moldova purchases gas from Gazprom under a contract that expires in 2019. In the first quarter of this year, the republic imported gas at a price of $ 235 per 1,000 cubic meters.