CATAN AND OTHERS v. MOLDOVA AND RUSSIA JUDGMENT 37 99. The Russian Government denied that they provided any economic support to the “MRT”. As regards the supply of gas, they explained that since the “MRT” was not recognised as a separate entity under international law, it could not have its own sovereign debts and Russia did not effect separate gas supplies for Moldova and Transdniestria. The bill for supplying gas to Transdniestria was, therefore, attributed to Moldova. The supply of gas to the region was organised through the Russian public corporation Gazprom and the joint stock company Moldovagaz, which was owned jointly by Moldova and the “MRT”. The debt owed by Moldovagaz to Russia exceeded USD 1.8 billion, of which USD 1.5 billion related to gas consumed in Transdniestria. Gazprom could not simply refuse to supply gas to the region, since it needed pipelines through Moldova to supply the Balkan States. Complex negotiations were on-going between Gazprom and Moldovagaz concerning the repayment of the debt. In 2003-2004 a solution was proposed whereby the “MRT” would permit Russia to remove military equipment to the value of USD 1 million in return for Russia writing off an equivalent sum from the gas debt, but this scheme was never implemented because at that point relations between Moldova and the “MRT” deteriorated and neither was prepared to consent. The Russian Government denied that there were separate contracts for gas supply to Moldova and Transdniestria and contended that it was impossible for Gazprom to fix different rates for consumers in each part of the country. From 2008 Moldova has been required to pay for gas at European prices, rather than on preferential internal rates. 100. With regard to financial aid, the Russian Government submitted that the amount of aid given to Russian citizens living in the region for humanitarian purposes, such as the payment of pensions and assistance with catering in schools, prisons and hospitals, was fully transparent, and could be compared with humanitarian aid provided by the European Union. As well as providing aid to the population living in Transdniestria, Russia provided aid to those living in other parts of Moldova. In addition, the Russian Government denied that Moldova was ever subjected to economic sanctions because of its position as regards the “MRT” and underlined that the President and the Government, rather than the Duma, were in charge of economic policy. In March 2006 restrictions were placed on the importation of wine from Moldova because violations of sanitary norms were discovered. Importation of Moldovan wine resumed from 1 November 2007 following an expert report. The authorities of the Russian Federation considered the Republic of Moldova as a single State and had no separate trading and economic arrangements with Transdniestria. 101. On the issue of political support, the Russian Government argued that, as a matter of international law, even if it could be established that Russia politically supported the “MRT” authorities in any relevant way, this would not establish that Russia was responsible for human rights violations