Economist assesses Moldova's intention not to repay its debt to Gazprom

The Russian company Gazprom may refuse to supply gas to Moldova if Chisinau fails to pay its debts. Stanislav Mitrakhovich, a leading expert of the National Energy Security Fund and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia on November 29.

This is how he assessed the statement of Moldavian Prime Minister Dorin Recean that the country "does not have a $709 million debt to the Russian holding company." He said this on the air of Moldova 1 TV channel the day before. The discussion intensified against the background of Ukraine's intention to stop the transit of Russian gas through its territory.

"The situation, of course, will be clear only after it will be clear whether the gas transit through Ukraine will be prolonged, because if the gas transit through Ukraine will not be prolonged, then, accordingly, Moldova will have to negotiate to receive gas through Romania," he explained.

According to the economist, if Moldova does not pay its debts, there is a high probability that Gazprom will not look for bypass supply routes. If Chisinau pays, alternative ways of supply will be possible, even bypassing the Ukrainian transit, Mitrakhovich concluded.

Restrictive examples: what the new US sanctions against Gazprombank mean

Restrictions on a number of other players and top management of the Central Bank will not affect the economy in any way - the market has already adapted to the new reality

Earlier, on November 26, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebryan said that if the Russian Federation stops supplies to Transnistria after stopping the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, it will not just be a crisis for Moldova, but will turn into a real humanitarian catastrophe.

The head of the Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov, said for the first time on October 29, 2023, that Ukraine has no intention to extend the agreement on the transit of Russian gas through its territory. On August 27, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, said that the country will not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires at the end of 2024.

The day after the Ukrainian president's statement, the Moldovan Energy Ministry said that it had prepared a plan of action in case Russian gas supplies were cut off.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the 9th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF-2024) in Vladivostok on September 5 that Russia was not giving up gas transit through Ukraine. According to the head of state, Gazprom plans to fulfill all its obligations under long-term contracts.