Moscow blames Ukraine for stopping gas transit and Moldova for financial disputes; Chisinau suspects that Russia is trying to influence the upcoming elections.
The head of the foreign policy of the European Union accused Russia of gas weapons against Moldova.
Russia is using “gas as a weapon” to wage a “hybrid war” against the small southeastern European country, Kaja Kallas said late Tuesday, pledging the bloc’s support. Moldova’s Transnistria region, which enjoys strong ties to Moscow, has been without gas since the start of the year amid a financial dispute between Chisinau and Russian state gas giant Gazprom.
“Russia continues to use gas as a weapon and once again Moldova is a target of its hybrid war,” Kallas wrote during the night on the social platform X. “Thanks to the support of the EU, Moldova remains resilient and well connected to European energy networks.”
Russia continues to use gas as a weapon and once again Moldova is a target of its hybrid war.
Thanks to EU support, Moldova remains resilient and well connected to European energy networks.
In my call with @DorinRecean I reaffirmed our unwavering solidarity with Moldova.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) January 7, 2025
For decades, Transnistria, a mainly Russian-speaking breakaway region along the Ukrainian border, had received Russian gas via Ukraine.
But this path has been cut off on New Year’s Day after Kiev refused to extend a transit agreement with Moscow that had persisted through nearly three years of war between the pair.
The Moldovan government has blamed the crisis on Gazprom, which it says has refused to supply contracted gas to Transnistria via an alternative and proven Transbalkan route.
Gazprom has blamed unpaid Moldovan debts that Moscow says total $709 million as the reason for the disruption. But Moldova disputes the debt and says its position is supported by an international audit.
In her post, Kallas said she reaffirmed the EU’s “unwavering solidarity with Moldova” in a call with Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean.
The disruption now affects more than 51,000 families in Transnistria. About 1,500 apartment buildings have no heating, and the functioning of the economy is also under pressure.
Regime change
The thin sliver of land of Transnistria it has been de facto controlled by pro-Russian forces since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but is internationally recognized as part of Moldova.
Moldova says Moscow is falsely blaming it for the crisis, which it says Russia artificially fueled to undermine the government ahead of parliamentary elections this year.
“The meaning of all this is for Russia to create instability in the region, but also very important to influence the results of the parliamentary elections in Moldova… They want to get a pro-Russian government…”, said Recean during an online briefing.
At the end of last year, Russia was accused of interference in the elections that saw Moldova’s pro-EU forces win a majority slim.
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2025-01-08 08:30:00
