Russia's Gazprom will continue supplying gas to Moldova if the country pays its debt in full and signs a new contract starting from 1 December, the energy giant's official representative Sergei Kupriyanov said.
He said Gazprom's stance is not political – the company simply cannot operate at a loss.
"...Gazprom is a joint-stock company and...cannot afford to lose tax payments it owes the Russian budget. There are limits to patience. Moldova has provoked this crisis with its own hands," he said.
"At the moment, the debt itself is $443 million, and given the delays in payments, the total debt is $709 million. Moldovan officials do not want to acknowledge the amount of the debt. Moldovan officials also do not like the gas price, though the pricing here is clear and transparent," Kupriyanov noted.
Kupriyanov added that Gazprom was puzzled to learn that Kishinev plans to liquidate the Moldovan gas company - Moldova-Gas - which owes Gazprom.
"A company has to pay for goods it has received," he said.
"Despite the accumulated debt, the Moldovan side is asking to extend the contract for gas supplies for October and November this year. Gazprom agreed to compromise, signing the contract for October, and is also ready to extend the contract for November if the Moldovan side pays for the September-October supplies in full," Kupriyanov said.
This comes following the negotiations that Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu had with Gazprom in Moscow earlier this week. On returning to Chisinau, he wrote on Facebook that Gazprom agreed to supply additional volumes of gas in October and increase daily supplies by 5 million cubic metres.
Gas prices have been increasing in Europe in the past few months, reaching the $1,000 per thousand cubic metres ceiling due to the cold autumn, a shortage of external LNG supplies, and the EU gas reservoirs not being full enough.