After Gazprom, Russia’s energy corporation, drastically cut gas shipments to Moldova, Moldova is now asking European countries for assistance.
According to the Financial Times, Moldova has requested emergency gas supplies from Romania in order to alleviate pressure and reduce shortages, as well as to ease the rise in prices.
The country’s gas supplies have dropped by a third, as the prices for gas have risen in the space of a few months from $550 per thousand cubic meters to $790.
According to the Financial Times, Andrei Spinu, deputy prime minister of Moldova, stated that such an increase was “not justified” and “not realistic for Moldova”.
Spinu said that the country was still negotiating with Gazprom to get a better deal but was also looking at other countries like Romania and Ukraine for alternative deals.
The reason for the price rise could be due to Moldova’s election of Maia Sandu, a pro-European president in December 2020.
“The most plausible explanation is that Moldova has a pro-EU president and government, and Russia is happy to use this situation to press the country,” Aura Sabadus (senior energy journalist at market information service ICS), stated to the Financial Times.
