Moldova declares a state of emergency when the risk of Russian gas being cut off looms

The Moldovan parliament voted on Friday morning to declare a state of national emergency lasting 60 days, starting Dec. 16, due to the expected interruption of Russian gas supply on Jan. 1.

After Prime Minister Dorin Recean's request for approval, 56 members of the 101-seat chamber approved the measure just after midnight.

He said that the vote was to stop "gas blackmail" by Moscow.

Declaring an emergency allows the government respond quickly and reduce energy exports.

Ukraine has announced that it will not be extending its transit contract with Russian Gas giant Gazprom. The contract expires December 31.

Recean stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin "wants the Transdniestria population to be without electricity and gas, and held hostage." Moscow does this to destabilise Moldova."

Recean stated that it was up to the parliament to approve the emergency state so that this winter "must be the last time in our history where we can be subjected to energy blackmail".

In a press release, the government stated that failing to supply gas to Transdniestria "will lead to an humanitarian crisis...and will also create risk for the stability of Moldova's electricity sector".

About 2 billion cubic meters of gas are imported by Moldova each year. Transdniestria has agreed with the central government that, starting in 2022 all Russian gas received from Moldova will flow to Transdniestria.

Transdniestria is home to a power plant fuelled by Russian gas that is a vital plank of the breakaway region's economy and also provides most of the power for government-controlled areas of Moldova.

Transdniestria has declared an economic state of crisis on Tuesday.

Recean stated that the transit issue through Ukraine is an "artificial" problem, as Russian gas can be transported via other routes.

Moldova said that an alternative route for Transdniestria would be to ship Russian Gas via the TurkStream Pipeline to Turkey, and then through Bulgaria or Romania.

Gazprom has been in talks with Moldova to continue deliveries through alternative routes, but it is demanding that Moldova pay $709 million for past supplies. (Reporting and editing by Ron Popeski; Diane Craft, Jamie Freed and Alexander Tanas)

(source: Reuters)