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Moldova mulls suing Gazprom for non-fulfillment of contract

14 December 2022 09:23 (UTC +04:00)

The government of Moldova may file a lawsuit against Russian energy giant Gazprom, whom they accuse of provoking an energy crisis in the country, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said in an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle (designated as a foreign media agent in Russia), APA reports citing TASS.

"Gazprom is to blame for the situation that compels us to buy gas and electricity on the global market. And we are preparing to sue the company for non-fulfillment of the contract," Spinu said.

"We will also seek for the compensation of damages because due to their fault, we are forced to re-allocate funds and take loans. We have signed a contract and counted on Gazprom, and they did not suggest reviewing or terminating it. The company also did not suggest reducing the volume of supplies," the official continued.

Earlier, the head of the Moldovagaz company Vadim Ceban said he planned to visit Russia until the end of the year to negotiate with Gazprom. He also said he was planning to encourage talks between the government of Moldova and the top management of the Russian company.

Prior to that, the Moldovan government approved a plan to prevent a crisis in the energy sector in the event that gas supplies from Russia come to a stop. It stipulates three possible scenarios: a reduction of supplies by 35%, by 50%, and a complete stoppage. The government is increasing purchases of fuel oil and firewood, and also putting aside funds for purchasing gas from European traders.

From October 1, Gazprom reduced the daily volume of gas supply to Moldova by 30% to 5.7 million cubic meters, while the country needs 8.06 million cubic meters. The Russian company attributed that to technical problems associated with the restriction of transit through Ukraine. In November, gas supplies from Russia remained at the same level, and the shortage in Moldova rose to 50%.