Moldovan infrastructure minister says leadership looks for energy alternatives, Poland perspective

Chisinau, 20 October /MOLDPRES/ - Deputy Prime Minister, Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Andrei Spinu said that, on a visit to Poland on 18-19 October, he had had more high-level meetings and the foremost subject was the supply with natural gas and solutions to overcome the present crisis in Moldova. Spinu said that the leadership was looking for alternatives and considered, in this respect, the perspective of a long-lasting cooperation with the Polish side. The minister made statements to this effect at a news conference held at the cabinet meeting today.     

„In Warsaw, I had meetings at the Presidency. I met the state secretary at the Chancellery of Poland’s President, head of the international bureau of policies Jakub Kumoch, as well as the special representative for Moldova of the Prime Minister of Poland, Adam Eberhardt. I informed both officials about the situation faced by Moldova at present on the gas market. I met also the state secretary of the Polish PM’s chancellery and plenipotentiary for the strategic energy infrastructure, Piotr Naimski.  I discussed the long-term partnership which we treat with maximal seriousness, as our goal is that the supply sources be as diversified and as adequate as possible for overcoming a crisis of such a size,’’ Andrei Spinu said.       

The official noted that he had had technical discussions with the deputy president of the state company PGNiG, Artur Cieślik, about the capacity of the natural gas, which Moldova can get on behalf of the Polish state. ‘’We spoke with the president of the administrative board of GAZ-SYSTEM, Tomasz Stepien. At the discussions, we tackled technical solutions which we can together implement with Polish partners, in order to provide gas to Moldova. Poland is a friendly state and a reliable partner of Moldova in the European Union, on which we can count in the situation emerged,’’ the minister said.    

In another context, Andrei Spinu informed that he would leave for Moscow along with Deputy prime Minister for Reintegration Vlad Kulminski on 21 October, where he will participate in negotiations with Russian authorities and representatives of the Russian giant Gazprom on the supply with natural gas. According to the infrastructure minister, at these discussions, Moldova will speak out for the extension of the earlier contract. ‘’The discussions will focus on the prolongation of the earlier contract, the present debts, etc. Upon the return from Moscow, most probably on 22 October, we will inform about the opinion on the results achieved,’’ Spinu noted.  

Asked what happens if no agreement is reached with Gazprom, Andrei Spinu said that en emergency situation would be, for which the government has the needed solutions. For the moment, the deputy PM asked not to launch speculations and interpretations.