Moscow [Russia], January 1 : Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom on Wednesday said that it had halted the transit of gas through Ukraine due to Kyiv's refusal to extend a gas transit agreement with Moscow, TASS reported.
The Russian company in a statement said that the five-year agreement between Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz, which governed the cooperation between the two countries' gas transportation systems, had expired on January 1.
"As Ukraine repeatedly and clearly refused to extend these agreements, Gazprom was deprived of the technical and legal ability to supply gas for transit through Ukraine from January 1, 2025. The supply of Russian gas for its transportation through Ukraine stopped at 8:00 a.m. Moscow time," the Gazprom statement said, according to a report by TASS.
The deal had facilitated the transit of 40 billion cubic metres of Russian gas through Ukraine each year. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously stated that a new agreement for gas transit would not be possible, as it was too late to negotiate a deal just before the New Year. In response, Kyiv had declared its intention to cease the transit of Russian gas.
A few day earlier, Gazprom had announced that it will reduce natural gas supplies to Moldova to zero starting January 1, 2025, citing contract violations and the Moldovan government's failure to settle debts for gas deliveries.
In a statement, the Russian energy company said it had notified Moldovagaz, one of the largest enterprises in the energy sector in the country, on Saturday about Moldova's repeated failure to meet payment obligations under the current contract, which constitutes a breach of its terms.
"In this regard, based on the provisions of the contract and applicable norms of Russian legislation, PJSC Gazprom will introduce a restriction on natural gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova to 0 cubic metres per day from 8:00 am Moscow time (5:00 a.m. GMT) on January 1, 2025," the Russian company said in a statement, TASS reported.
The company in its statement noted that the restriction will remain in effect until Gazprom notifies Moldovagaz in writing otherwise, TASS reported.
Gazprom emphasised that it reserves all legal rights, including the option to terminate the contract and to seek compensation for damages and penalties from Moldovagaz for non-compliance or inadequate fulfillment of its contractual responsibilities.
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