Tofilat dismisses Dodon's cheap Russian gas pledge as unworkable
Moldovan energy expert Sergiu Tofilat has dismissed a proposal by Igor Dodon, leader of the pro-Russian Party of Socialists (PSRM) and Moldova's former president, to resume buying Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline.
Tofilat called the plan populist and technically unworkable, given how little pipeline capacity remains available.
"Gazprom has only one route left into the European Union — TurkStream," Tofilat said on Moldova 1, the state broadcaster. "Its annual capacity is about 18 billion cubic meters, and that's already committed to existing contracts. So if Dodon and others are calling for us to buy Russian gas, I have a simple question: how would they even get it to Moldova's border? In a bag? In a box?" Tofilat noted that Gazprom delivered roughly 18 billion cubic meters to Europe last year, against 180–183 billion cubic meters in 2019 — a tenfold drop that leaves the pipeline running at capacity with no room for new buyers like Moldova.
Dodon had proposed buying Russian gas through TurkStream at around $330 per 1,000 cubic meters, saying he had discussed the idea with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Novak and that Moscow could arrange direct deliveries to Moldova. Moldovan officials rejected the proposal. Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu called the promise of cheap Russian gas "baseless," noting that transport costs via TurkStream would make it uncompetitive. Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu labeled Dodon's comments populist, arguing that Moldova must buy gas on the best terms available in a market shaped by geopolitics.
The dispute comes as Moldovan households, currently paying 14.42 Moldovan lei (MDL, about €0.74) per cubic meter, face a proposed increase to 20.3 MDL (≈ €1.04) with VAT included. Regulator ANRE is reviewing the request from state energy company Energocom, which cited a 106 million MDL financial shortfall tied to rising purchase costs. Moldova stopped buying gas from Gazprom after the Russian company unilaterally cut winter deliveries in 2022, despite having a valid contract.
Translation by **Iurie Tataru
