Moldova predicts energy difficulties if Russian gas supplies are cut off

Transnistria may face energy difficulties from January 1 if Russia's Gazprom stops supplying gas. This was announced by the Minister of Energy in Moldova Victor Parlicov on November 22 on the air of the Moldovan TV channel Jurnal TV.

"Nobody wants to destabilize the Transnistrian region now, neither in Brussels nor in Washington. We may or may not like it, but the gasification of the region comes from Gazprom," Parlicov said.

The Energy Minister noted that the country needs the help of foreign partners. He called it a mistake to believe that Brussels or Washington can finance the Transnistrian region.

The talks between the Gazprom representative and Parlicov will take place on November 25 in St. Petersburg.

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Earlier, on November 21, the republic's prime minister, Dorin Recean, said it was important to restore relations with the Russian Federation.

On November 20, former President and leader of the opposition Party of Socialists Igor Dodon emphasized that the strategic partnership between Moldova and Russia should be resumed and sanctions should be lifted.

Prior to that, on November 9, Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlikov said that Chisinau was asking Russian energy company Gazprom to clarify gas supplies without waiting until December 31, when the five-year contract on transit through Ukraine expires.

Oleksiy Chernyshov, head of the Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, said for the first time on October 29, 2023, that Ukraine has no intention to extend the contract on the transit of Russian gas through its territory. On August 27, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, said that Ukraine will not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires at the end of this year.

The day after the Ukrainian president's statement, the Moldovan Energy Ministry said that it had prepared an action plan in case Russian gas supplies were cut off. It said that the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) had identified 31 scenarios of a regional electricity crisis, 26 of which could affect Moldova. Among them, for example, are overloading of electric networks due to shortages, as well as disruptions in gas supplies during the winter period.

At the same time, in July, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the future of Russian gas transit to the EU countries through the territory of Ukraine depends on Kiev's desire, Moscow is ready to continue deliveries even after the agreement is finalized.

On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the IX Eastern Economic Forum (VEF-2024) in Vladivostok that Russia was not giving up gas transit through Ukraine. According to Putin, Gazprom plans to fulfill all its obligations under long-term contracts.