Peskov Says No Meeting Between Russian, Moldovan Presidents Planned For July 17

The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moldovan leader Igor Dodon is not in the plans for July 17, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2019) The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moldovan leader Igor Dodon is not in the plans for July 17, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Dodon said earlier that he intended to go to Russia on Wednesday to discuss with the authorities and the management of energy giant Gazprom a discount on gas.

"No. There are no plans [for the meeting on July 17]," Peskov said.

Dodon said on Facebook on Tuesday that he had discussed the need to conclude a new gas contract with Moscow at a meeting with Minister of Economy Vadim Brinzan and the candidate for the post of Moldovagaz head, Vadim Ceban. The candidacy of the latter needs to be approved by Gazprom leadership.

"Previous experience shows that a delay in this process could jeopardize the country's energy security, especially during the cold season," Dodon stressed.

According to Dodon, there is preliminary information about various criminal schemes used in the country's energy system in general and within Moldovagaz in particular, which affect tariffs on gas. He said that relevant agencies had been instructed to deal with this issue.

Dodon met with Alexey Miller, head of Gazprom, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in early June. They agreed to start talks on gas supply and transit after the 2008 gas deal runs out on January 1, 2020.

In 2018, Moldova received 2.9 billion cubic meters (102 billion cubic feet) of gas from Gazprom, which marked an increase of 8.4 percent compared to the previous year.