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Moldova’s president-elect Sandu says country will not pay Transnistria’s gas bill

Moldova’s president-elect Maia Sandu said that Chisinau has no unpaid bill for the natural gas supplied by Russia and it would be “unfair” to pay for the natural gas used by the separatist region Transnistria.

Sandu estimates Transnistria’s unpaid bills at $7.5bn, or two-thirds of the country’s GDP.

"On the right bank [of the Dniester river], we have practically no debts to Gazprom, because we pay and we have paid all these years. On the other hand, [those on] the left bank of the Dniester have not paid for gas and they have a very large debt. Of course, we cannot pay this debt. It would be unfair and dishonest," said Sandu to Rbc.ru.

"This whole discussion begins about who will pay this huge debt of Transnistria. It is a big problem and it must be solved,” commented Sandu.

The president-elect reiterated this to other foreign media. The last statement in this regard was for the Evropeiskaia Pravda editorial office.

Earlier, Sandu said that she does not recognise the gas debt that Transnistria has, as she does not consider it as the debt of the Republic of Moldova.

The gas companies in Moldova, including Transnistria, are controlled by Gazprom. Russia has agreed to supply gas to Transnistria as a support for the pro-Russian separatist region. Part of the gas has been used to produce electricity, which was sold to Moldova proper.