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Moldova, Russia Reach Gas Price Deal

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 January 2006, 09:01 CST

Moldova, Russia reach gas price deal

BUCHAREST, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Moldova and Russia set a natural gas price deal for the first four months of this year late on Monday, ending a price dispute during which Russia cut its gas supplies to Moldova, the Moldovan Information Agency reported on Tuesday.

Under the deal, Moldova is to pay 110 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas from Russia, up from the 80 dollars the government had been paying in 2005.

The agreement was reached in Moscow between the Russian state- controlled gas giant Gazprom and Moldovan gas company Moldovagaz. The two sides also struck a deal on the transit fee of Russia's gas to Baltic countries through Moldova.

The two companies will hold further discussions to set a definitive price later, the report said.

The deal was a compromise between Moldova, which wanted to remain at 80 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, and Russia, which originally wanted to charge 160 dollars. On Jan. 1, Russia cut off the gas delivery to the country, forcing it to buy natural gas from the neighboring Ukraine's reserve.

Russia sends 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas to neighboring Moldova every year at a lower rate than the market prices.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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