TIRASPOL, January 15. /TASS/. Transnistria, which is facing a major energy crisis, will receive gas from Russia as humanitarian aid, Vadim Krasnoselsky, president of the unrecognized republic, said at a press conference following talks in Moscow.
"The focus was on resuming gas supplies to Transnistria," he pointed out. "Gas will be supplied as humanitarian aid in an amount sufficient to meet the needs of the Transnistrian people, the thermal energy sector, and industrial enterprises in Transnistria. No date has been set for when gas supplies will begin, but they will begin for sure," Krasnoselsky added.
According to him, talks on the resumption of gas supplies were initiated "in collaboration with Russia", and the negotiations were held at the Russian Energy Ministry’s level. "The transit route will be defined in further talks," the Transnistrian leader added.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu stated earlier that Krasnoselsky had traveled to Moscow via the Chisinau airport. She stressed that the Moldovan leadership was interested in resolving the crisis and ensuring the resumption of Russian gas supplies to Transnistria.
Moldova, and especially Transnistria, was hit particularly hard by the termination of Russian gas supplies via Ukraine. The country has neither economically sound alternatives to Russian gas supplies nor gas reserves, while all major transportation routes run through Ukraine, experts explained.
Moldovan energy crisis
On December 16, Moldova declared a state of emergency as Russian gas transit through Ukraine was expected to end on January 1. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in early December that the termination of Russian gas supplies to Transnistria, which generates up to 80% of electricity consumed in Moldova, will not just lead to a rise in prices but could also trigger a humanitarian disaster in the winter.
In order to save energy, Transnistria turned off central heating and hot water supplies to residential buildings, and suspended the operation of industrial facilities. The Russian Inter RAO-owned Cuciurgan Power Station, which is located on the left bank of the Dniester River and used to meet 80% of Moldova’s electricity needs, switched to coal. Coal stocks were expected to last until late January or mid-February. Since the Cuciurgan Power Station stopped supplies to Moldova, Chisinau was forced to purchase more expensive electricity from Romania and raise tariffs.