MOSCOW, Sept. 6 Gazprom does not agree with Moldova's proposal to pay 8.6 out of $709 million in audited debt, the company said.
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"Auditor's report was not approved by the Supervisory Board of JSC «Moldovagaz», as was stipulated by the agreements between PJSC «Gazprom» and the government of the Republic of Moldova. <…> The auditor's conclusions cannot in any way affect the amount and validity of the said debt,» the statement says.
The company emphasized that Chisinau, without the consent of Gazprom and Moldovagaz, chose the auditor and the terms of the tender for the purchase of his services. They also recalled that the obligations of the republic are confirmed in documents regularly signed by Russian and Moldovan companies, as well as in decisions of international arbitration.
Gazprom noted that they do not agree with Chisinau's statements and will defend their rights.
Earlier today, Minister of Energy of Moldova Victor Parlikov announced the results of the audit of the historical debt of Moldovagaz to Gazprom. As the head of the department noted, as of the end of March 2022, it amounted to $709 million. Of this amount, 276 million were not documented by Moldovagaz or Gazprom, he said. According to Parlikov, another $400 million is not recoverable because the statute of limitations has expired on it. Based on this, the government of the republic offered to pay Gazprom only 8.6 million dollars, and challenge the rest in court.
As stated earlier in Gazprom, the company reserves the right to completely stop gas supplies to Moldova due to a gross violation of the contract. The agreement was signed on favorable terms for Chisinau, but with a mandatory debt audit in 2022.
Only last August, the Moldovan government signed an agreement with the Norwegian company Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma and the British Forensic Risk Alliance&Co. It was expected that the first results would become known in January-February, but the timing of the verification has shifted significantly. //ria.ru/20230729/dodon-1887117000.html» data-title=»Dodon called on the Moldovan authorities to urgently start negotiations with Russia on gas»>