MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to provide gas to Moldova’s breakaway Transdniestria region, but needed logistical support from Moldova to make that happen.
Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the separatist enclave supported by Moscow, said on Wednesday that he expected Transdniestria to receive Russian gas again soon.
On Thursday, Moldova and the separatist region launched new accusations at each other, with a proposal collapsing to hold talks to tackle the energy crisis.
Tens of thousands of people in Transdniestria have been without gas or heating since Jan. 1, when Russia’s Gazprom suspended gas exports to the region, citing an unpaid Moldovan debt of $709 million.
Authorities in Chisinau contest that sum.
Moscow blames the suspension of gas supplies on pro-Western Moldova and Kyiv, which refused to extend a five-year gas transit deal that expired on Dec. 31 because the proceeds help fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moldova’s authorities have said that despite a valid contract and the option of an alternative transit route, Gazprom is refusing to supply gas in order to destabilise its government ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections.
Asked on Thursday about Moscow’s plans, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia is prepared to provide gas, but needs Moldova to cooperate from a technical point of view.
“Yes, Moscow will be ready and is ready to provide assistance to Transdniestria, but at the same time, purely logistically, of course, actions must be taken on the part of Moldova that ensure gas supply and contracting,” Peskov told reporters.
“We have not heard any statements (from Moldova) about their readiness to do this.”
Transdniestria and Moldova accused each other of torpedoing a proposed meeting to tackle the situation.
Moldova’s Bureau for Reintegration, which oversees efforts to end the separatist dispute, said Transdniestria had rejected Chisinau’s proposal for talks to be held on Friday, including a proposal for Ukraine to supply coal.
Transdniestria’s Foreign Ministry accused Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Integration, Oleg Serebrian, of torpedoing the meeting.
The separatist side appeared to have objected to Serebrian’s call for Transdniestria to end the long-running practice of “humanitarian gas” – receiving shipments free of charge from Russia – and to work towards “energy independence”.
Transdniestria, a tiny pro-Russian and mainly Russian-speaking separatist region along the Dniester River and the border with Ukraine, received about 2 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year via Ukraine.
It used the fuel to heat homes and generate electricity, which it sold to government-controlled areas of Moldova at a rate 30% to 40% cheaper than authorities pay to buy power from European countries.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and by Alexander Tanas in Chisinau; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva and Ron PopeskiEditing by Andrew Osborn and Rod Nickel)
