Moldova has turned to a non-Russian natural gas supplier for the first time as the former Soviet republic seeks to avert a looming gas shortage this winter after failing to renew a long-term supply contract with Moscow.
On Tuesday, Moldova received a million cubic meters of gas from Poland in a move aimed at diversifying its energy supply following years of strong Russian influence over the small European nation of 3.5 million people.
Gazprom over the weekend said that Moldova, Europe's poorest country, would need to settle its outstanding debts of as much as $709 million in order to extend its contract. The Russian company also warned that it would cut Moldova's gas supply on Dec. 1 if payment wasn't received. The deal with Polish supplier PGNiG came a week after Moldova's parliament declared a 30-day state of emergency when Gazprom slashed its gas supply by about a third and raised its prices amid a skyrocketing global gas price hike.
"There are no political issues here and there can't be any," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday. "There is a demand for gas, there is a commercial offer along with a discount offer and the problem of accumulated debt. All that is of purely commercial character and there is no politicization here."
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