Press statement of Moldovan President after meeting of Supreme Security Council

Chisinau, 29 Octber /MOLDPRES/- Today I had a meeting of the Supreme Security Council at which I heard several authorities about the functioning of the institutions in the conditions of the energy crisis that our country is facing. I wanted to make sure that all state institutions mobilized their capabilities to the maximum to overcome the crisis. At the same time, as President, I asked for help from the most important external partners of the Republic of Moldova and I received assurances that the people of Moldova are not alone in the face of this crisis. Our country has many friends and I am confident that we will emerge well from this crisis.

At the meeting of the Supreme Security Council, we made several decisions today, including:

- to recommend to the Committee on Exceptional Situations that measures be taken to provide medical institutions, in particular hospital institutions, with alternative sources of electricity or with the equipment necessary to ensure the functioning of the institutions.

- to impose measures to optimize the consumption of natural gas for the production of thermal energy in public institutions.

- take measures to ensure that CETs, which are suppliers of heat and electricity, are provided with the necessary quantities of fuel to generate heat and electricity.

- A decision also calls for the creation of fuel oil formulas and mechanisms to ensure the stocks needed for the operation of district heating plants.

Dear citizens,

From the moment we along with you won a hard fight against those who devastated and impoverished our country, we all knew that the road would be difficult. I knew that we had a lot of work to do to solve all the internal problems. Now, we are facing a serious problem, the solution of which is not only in the powers of the Republic of Moldova. It is about the dramatic increase in the price of gas globally and the problems related to the supply of natural gas.

Increasing gas prices 5-6 times in just a few months is not normal, it is an anomaly. Such a sharp rise is a severe blow to household consumers and the economy in any country, especially in the Republic of Moldova, where people's incomes are low and the economy has only just begun to recover from the pandemic crisis.

Our situation is even worse because of the irresponsible governments that have perished in these 30 years. Those who have been in power so far have used energy schemes for their own pockets and have done nothing to prevent our country from reaching such a deadlock. While other countries have invested, for decades, in the diversification of energy resources, in renewable energy projects, in energy efficiency projects, so as to protect such crises, in our country the energy system has been a constant source of corruption.

The gas pipeline that connects the Republic of Moldova with Romania was completed only this year, the interconnection station for electricity has not been built until today, and because of this for three decades we are at the mercy of the regime in Tiraspol. Almost nothing has been done to ensure the country's energy independence, almost no leu has been invested in renewable energy and very little money in projects that will allow us to reduce energy consumption and pay less, respectively.

Instead, hundreds of millions of dollars of schemes have flourished in the energy sector, and large-scale corruption has gone unpunished. Today, the Republic of Moldova should have gas tanks in which we can store natural gas, have purchasing tools from several suppliers, have connections with more partners, have national energy efficiency programs for housing, have investments in renewable energy. Unfortunately, we don't have any of this. Only now are we really starting to work for the country's energy security.

In these weeks we have all worked together - the government, the presidency, the parliament to identify solutions. I personally had several telephone conversations with Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, in order to facilitate discussions on the signing, under acceptable conditions, of a contract between Moldovagaz and Gazprom. Even today, negotiations are still taking place in St. Petersburg. I also communicated with several heads of state to identify alternatives - I spoke with the President of Romania, with the President of Germany, with the President of Poland, of Azerbaijan. I addressed the subject during my visit to Vienna. In the last month, I had several discussions with the leadership of the European Union institutions - with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, and European Commissioners to identify resources for gas procurement and citizen support and I am glad we have this recent decision of the European Union on the allocation of a donation of 60 million euros to support the citizens of the Republic of Moldova in the short term in the face of this crisis.

Unfortunately, the situation has not yet been overcome, and a week ago, the Government declared a state of emergency in the energy sector. The state of emergency was declared because in October the Republic of Moldova did not receive the necessary volume of gas from Gazprom. For this reason, it has started buying gas from sources other than Gazprom. And it is important to be able to buy these volumes of gas that were not enough, and the Government, by declaring a state of emergency, provided this mechanism so that we could make these purchases. But the market price is still very high and that is the major problem we face.

Dear citizens,

I know that many of you have received this news with great anxiety. I know that many families are worried that winter is coming and are wondering if they will not have enough heat or face other problems related to this crisis. For this, all state institutions were mobilized, so that the country is provided with the necessary natural gas and no one freezes.

I know I can talk to you honestly. I trust the responsibility with which Moldovans know how to go through hardships. And I am confident that the difficulties will make us stronger, as in a family that is going through hard times.

Together we started a hard fight against thieves, we identified money to gradually start to increase pensions, social allowances, to increase salaries, we started cleaning the institutions of harmful elements to make them strong. And in this already complicated path, this crisis has come over our country. We did not cause it, but we will have to go through it. It is up to all of us how we go through this crisis. I am confident that we can overcome it as a united country - in solidarity, with care for each other, with responsibility and with our heads held high.

Because it's not just about the price of gas. It is also about our power to go through hardships together and get out of them stronger. I come to you, dear citizens, with a call for national solidarity. Let's stay united, let's not allow the division of the country when it's the hardest, let's pay attention to the lies we are intoxicated with. Let us not quarrel just when we need to be most united.

I am sure that after a challenging winter, a spring of development will come and we will continue to change the path of our country to make it better and more prosperous.