The leader of Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria, plagued by power and heat cuts, said on Friday that gas reserves would run out in the coming days and urged the central government to end the ” artificial delays” and to provide new supplies.
But the Moldovan prime minister said a solution could only be achieved if Russian gas producer Gazprom resumed deliveries to Moldova, or if the pro-Russian breakaway region agreed to pay for gas guaranteed on European markets.
Transnistria, which separated from Moldova as the Soviet Union collapsed, had long received Russian gas passing through Ukraine, but the kyiv authorities, engaged in a nearly three-year war with Moscow refused to extend the transit agreement.
The gas was also used to operate a thermal power plant that provided most of the electricity in government-held regions of Moldova.
Transnistria’s self-proclaimed president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, said many of his region’s 350,000 residents were falling ill or dying from fires and carbon monoxide poisoning after trying to keep warm in the conditions winter.
“In a few days there will be no gas left in the pipelines. Without it, things will be very difficult,” he told Russian television Rossiya-24, according to a summary of his remarks published on the website of the region’s parliament.
“If the gas disappears, it will take two to three months to restore heating to residential buildings.
He added that the region had accepted the conditions set by the Moldovan authorities, including the purchase of more expensive European gas.
-“Five days have passed and we see nothing from Moldova other than false accusations,” he said. “Moldova is dragging things out artificially to push the humanitarian situation to its climax.
Mr. Krasnoselsky had earlier appealed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and several world leaders to help resolve the energy crisis.
The region experiences four to five hours of power outages per day. Hundreds of residents gathered at crossing points to government-controlled areas, urging authorities to “let the gas in.”
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in a speech posted on social media that only the two solutions he had proposed could restore gas flows to the rebel region.
“The Moldovan government wants the region to have gas,” he said. “But the Kremlin does not want to resume gas deliveries. It wants to create a conflict between the inhabitants of the eastern bank of the Dniester and those of the other bank.
Government officials said no payments had been received from Transnistria to cover gas purchases. Moldova has long been at odds with Russia, denouncing Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and accusing the Kremlin of trying to overthrow its government.
Gazprom has said it cannot resume gas deliveries to Moldova until Moldovan authorities clear $709 million in arrears, a figure disputed by the government.
