The separatist enclave of Moldova hopes that Russia will soon resume gas supplies

Vadim Krsnoselsky, the leader of Transdniestria, a breakaway region in Moldova, said that it expects to be able to get Russian gas soon, to meet its own needs. This comes after two weeks of crippling power outages.

Since January 1, when Russia's Gazprom stopped gas exports into the region, Chisinau has refused to recognize the debt Moldova owes Gazprom of $709,000,000 as valid.

Moscow has blamed the suspension of gas supply on pro-Western Moldova, and Ukraine. They refused to extend the five-year transit agreement that expired on December 31 because the proceeds were used to fund Russia's invasion.

Krasnoselsky said at a press conference: "I hope as a result (of these negotiations in Moscow), that gas will soon be supplied to Transdniestria to generate electricity and to our people."

He added that the gas would be provided as humanitarian gas at the necessary volume for the people of Transdniestria and their industrial enterprises, and also for heat and electricity generation.

Russia has yet to comment on this issue.

Krasnoselsky stated that there will be further negotiations regarding the delivery date and route.

Transdniestria is a small pro-Russian region, with a majority of its population speaking Russian, located along the Dniester river and bordering Ukraine. It receives about 2 billion cubic metres of Russian gas per year through Ukraine. The fuel is used to heat homes, generate electricity and sell it to the rest Moldova.

Gazprom has refused to supply gas to Moldovan authorities despite having a contract in place and an option to use a different transit route. This is to undermine the government before this year's elections.

Transdniestria's separatist leaders rejected the government's offer to buy gas and instead sourced supplies from Europe. They blamed Moldova for the crisis.

Dorin Recean, Moldova's Prime minister, told reporters that the Kremlin regime had held people hostage mercilessly in cold and darkness because they wanted to bring pro-Russian groups to power, which would plunge our country into war and disrupt public order. (Reporting and writing by Alexander Tanas, Pavel Polityuk, and Philippa Fletcher).

(source: Reuters)