President Klaus Iohannis stated, during the meeting with the Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu, that Romania is aware of the extremely difficult situation faced by the Republic of Moldova regarding gas supply and that ”Romania will not abandon the Republic of Moldova”.
“Today, at the Government, there will be discussions on this topic, and tomorrow, and the day after, and in the future until we find the best solution. Today, in the discussion with Mrs. President, we agreed that we must work on different options, we must take into account different scenarios and have concrete plans prepared for all the scenarios we can imagine. One thing is certain: we will not abandon the Republic of Moldova and we will find solutions as they can be found for any of the options that may arise – for the good options it’s simple, for the very heavy it’s complicated,” said Iohannis.
Maia Sandu said that the Republic of Moldova wants to buy gas from Romania as soon as possible.
“The situation requires us to act with maximum urgency and look for alternative solutions to preserve the stability of the country and get through the winter well. Moldova needs solutions for energy security now! We want to buy gas from Romania and it is important that this be possible as soon as possible,” Maia Sandu said, adding that the Republic of Moldova is a small country, vulnerable to war and the citizens already pay a double price compared to the one paid by consumers in Romania.
Maia Sandu mentioned that the Republic of Moldova is also making efforts to reduce energy consumption, including in natural gas, and is looking for solutions to replace gas with fuel oil, wood or coal this winter.
“The Republic of Moldova is particularly vulnerable, and the population feels the shock of the increase in gas and electricity prices. We reviewed support options bilaterally. We discussed the role of the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline. Romania is consolidating itself as the first commercial partner of the Republic of Moldova. I assure you that Romania will continue to be involved in providing concrete assistance to the Republic of Moldova. We want the Republic of Moldova to overcome the crises and implement reforms,” Klaus Iohannis also said.
In the first five months of 2022, domestic consumers in the Republic of Moldova accumulated a debt in the amount of 71 million lei to the Moldovan-Russian company Moldovagaz for the delivery of natural gas, which announced that it will disconnect all bad payers starting from August 1st.
