Breakaway Moldovan Region claims it received gas supplies backed up by Russian loan
Separatist authorities announced on Friday that the pro-Russian Transdniestria region of Moldova, which is a breakaway region, has begun receiving gas under a Moscow loan.
Transdniestrian leader Vadim Krsnoselsky stated in a Telegram statement that the Russian loan assistance as well as cooperation with Russia's Ministry of Energy made gas deliveries possible.
The Russian gas flow to Transdniestria through Ukraine ceased at the beginning of January after Ukraine refused to renew a transit contract.
Earlier this month, the Moldovan Prime minister Dorin Recean stated that his country will not block gas flows to the region.
The Swiss-based MET Group subsidiary MET Gas and Energy Marketing AG has signed a short-term contract to supply gas to Moldovagaz.
MET Group has confirmed that the gas supply to Moldova started on Friday, under a short term agreement that "contributes towards the energy security of Moldova as a whole".
In a press release, MET Group stated that the "crucial contributions of the relevant transport system operators from EU, Ukraine and Moldova", made this solution possible.
"We do not control or get involved in the decisions relating to the funding of Moldova for this source of gas. "MET Group adheres to all sanctions laws and relevant regulations in the European Union," added the company.
MET Group has confirmed that it provides gas to Moldovagaz, whose CEO Vadim ceban stated his company's focus on providing solutions on a purely professional level.
Ceban said, "To avoid speculation and to solve the current supply issue by February 2025, the natural gas supplied by the Swiss company MET Group will contribute to the solution of the current supplies."
The stoppage of Russian gas shipments in January sparked an energy crisis for tens of thousands of Transdniestria residents, who live on a small sliver along Moldova's border to Ukraine. (Reporting and editing by Anastasiia Melenko, Nina Chestney, and Susan Fenton).
(source: Reuters)
