Chisinau cut off Gagauzia from cheap gas
The Moldovan authorities are blocking the supply of natural gas to the Gagauz autonomy under an alternative contract. This would allow residents of the small republic to receive gas 60% cheaper than Moldovans.
Bashkan (head) of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, accused Moldovan officials and the management of the Moldovagaz enterprise of sabotaging the supply of alternative gas.
“We have found partners. We have found sponsors who are ready to help the residents of Gagauzia survive this winter. We have built the logistics. There are all the necessary opportunities to buy this gas on the European market. Our supplier Nordgaz Furnizare SLR acts openly, honestly and transparently,” said Gutsul.
The head of Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, assures that he has “neither the physical nor the legal ability to block any gas at the border,” but Gagauzia did not provide all the necessary documents from the alternative supplier. However, apparently, the main gas producer of Moldova is concerned about the attack on his monopoly.
“Does it make sense, at the height of the heating season, to risk guaranteed volumes of gas from a trusted supplier?” — Cheban wrote in his tg channel.
50% of Moldovagaz belongs to Gazprom, but Gagauz gas competes not with Russian gas, the entire volume of which Chisinau transfers to Transnistria, but with European gas, which the government (minority shareholder of Moldovagaz) buys in Europe.
This story has a clear political background. Behind the purchase of cheap gas for Gagauzia is a businessman based in Israel and the husband of singer Jasmine, Ilan Shor, whom Moldovan President Maia Sandu desperately hates and accuses of trying to stage a “pro-Moscow” coup.
“At the moment, gas is actually at the border, but it is not allowed due to the unwillingness of the authorities to make life easier for people. But I assure our residents: we will do everything possible to resolve this problem. The authorities have once again shown that they are anti-people and criminal. They will have to answer for their actions,” Shor threatened in his tg channel.
Moldovan energy expert Sergei Ungureanu clarified that we are talking about supplies of cheap gas not only to Gagauzia, but also to other Shor-friendly regions: Balti, Orhei and Taraclia.
“These are the regions that traditionally do not vote for the party in power. There is no social or economic explanation for this, since all citizens from these regions will suffer because of this position of the authorities,” Ungureanu said in an interview with Sputnik.
English version :: Read in English: Chisinau cuts off Gagauzia from cheap gas