"Coming cold will reduce the arrogance of the Moldovan politicians"

Alexey Gromov, Principal Director on Energy Studies of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Gazeta.ru on the possibility of revising the five-year agreement with Gazprom as early as 2022.

After the conclusion of a five-year agreement with Gazprom, the head of Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, said that next year Chisinau will have an opportunity to sign a new agreement with the Russian monopoly. It would seem that the current fuel price ($ 450 per thousand cubic meters) should completely suit Moldova. In addition, Gazprom allowed its partners to conduct an audit of the debt, the amount of which reached $ 709 million. However, it appears that the bonuses received were not enough, and now Moldova is announcing the possibility of revising the agreement as early as 2022.

According to Alexey Gromov, the main problem of the current long-term contract is its secret nature, because Gazprom has not yet disclosed a specific price formula for the agreement. He suggested that Moldova and Russia could prescribe a separate package for the autumn-winter season in the contract. In this context, Cheban's statements from Moldovagaz do not seem so fantastic.

"Such a clause in long-term contracts often occurs, especially when the conclusion of important agreements in the fire order, as was the case with Moldova and Russia," – Gromov concluded.

According to the expert, the unresolved political issue of Transnistria remains the only trump card of Chisinau in further negotiations with Gazprom. Only in the event of a direct ultimatum to cut off the southern Ukrainian route of supplies to the unrecognized republic does Moldovagaz have a little hope of revising prices downward.

“Maintaining gas supplies to Transnistria is a matter of strategic expediency for Russia and Gazprom. That is why Moscow actually forgave Chisinau the huge debt of the unrecognized republic. It would be naive to assume that the contract with Chisinau for Moscow is a purely economic story," Gromov summed up.