MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. The conflict in Transnistria is already in full swing, this is due to the tactics of Western countries that are interested in the region's instability, deputy speaker of the Slovak parliament, Andrej Danko, told TASS.
"The West is fine with conflicts and political puppets like [Vladimir] Zelensky. When there is a conflict, it means it is their strategy," he said in response to a question whether Transnistria might become a new hotbed of tension due to Ukraine's suspension of gas transit.
"Of course, when energy tariffs rise and people don't have enough money, conflicts emerge, and it becomes easier to manage people. After all, people cannot work when they are afraid," he explained. According to the deputy speaker, "there is no question of whether such a conflict will arise, as these conflicts are already underway."
Gas supplies to Moldova were interrupted in early January after Kiev banned Russian gas transit via its territory. Meanwhile, Chisinau refused to repay its gas debt to Russia, estimated by the Russian side at $709 million. Since unlike Moldova, Transnistria has no other gas sources, it had to cut centralized heating and hot water supplies to residential houses and halt industrial enterprises. The Moldovan power plant located on the Dniester left bank and owned by Russia’s Inter RAO, which used to meet 80% of Moldova’s power demand, has switched to using coal, with its reserves being enough to last until late January or mid-February. After the Moldovan power plant suspended supplies to Moldova, Chisinau was forced to buy more expensive electricity from Romania and hence raise tariffs, stirring public outcry and severe criticism from the opposition.