CHISINAU, Sept 7 — Moldova said yesterday it owed Gazprom US$8.6 million (RM40.2 millIon) for gas, a fraction of the US$709 million claimed by the Russian oil and gas group and which Gazprom said it would keep seeking to recover.

The former Soviet republic, nestled between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, used to buy Russian natural gas.

But Gazprom and its Moldovan subsidiary said in late 2021 it had accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

Moldova Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said an international audit had shown that the publicly owned natural gas distributor Moldovagaz owed only US$8.6 million, and that the government "does not intend to pay non-existent debts”.

Prime Minister Dorin Receanadded: "After clarifications regarding the debt for natural gas, Moldova and citizens are not obliged to pay the corresponding bills.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry urged Moldova to refrain from politicising the issue of energy supplies.

"From our side, we would like to note that Gazprom has been a reliable supplier of energy for decades,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharov said on the ministry’s website.

"We appeal to authorities in Chisinau to show similar responsibility in fulfilling their responsibilities and to refrain from politicising practical issues of bilateral relations, including in the energy sector.”

Gazprom said it "categorically disagrees with the claims of the Moldovan side and intends to continue to defend its rights in every possible way”.

The Kremlin-controlled company put the debt at US$709 million a year ago, although the sum may have increased with the addition of interest.

Parlicov said the auditors had not received documents from Moldovagaz and Gazprom to cover US$276 million of the alleged debt.

"This is not to say that these documents don’t exist, just that they weren’t provided to the auditors,” he told reporters.

Another US$400 million could not be repaid for a number of procedural reasons, he said, adding that the government had shared the results of the audit with Moldovagaz and Gazprom, and was awaiting Gazprom’s reaction.

President Maia Sandu was quoted as saying on Sunday that the audit disproved Gazprom’s claim. She has previously said that Moldova has no debts to Gazprom for natural gas. — Reuters