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| Anatol Țăranu | |
Moscow's halting of gas supplies to Moldova as of January 1, 2025, has caused an energy crisis manageable by the Chisinau authorities on the right bank, but with catastrophic consequences in the breakaway region of Transnistria. A state of energy emergency has been declared on both banks of the Dniester, while Chisinau has gas reserves for the winter, while in the Tiraspol-controlled area heating and lighting in the production area and in most people's homes has been almost completely cut off.
It is only now, when Russia has unleashed a total energy blackmail against the Republic of Moldova, that the real results of Chisinau's policies in recent years, which have led to a considerable reduction in its excessive economic dependence on Moscow, especially in the energy sector, have begun to become fully apparent. This policy has incurred and continues to incur high costs, including image costs, for the pro-European government, but in reality it has given the Republic of Moldova immunity from Moscow's trade and energy blackmail at the most tense moments of economic and political life.
Today, the Republic of Moldova is combating Moscow's energy blackmail by importing the necessary quantities of gas from Romania, which practically covers the entire consumption needs of Romania's second largest state. Data from Transgaz, the company that operates Romanian gas exports to the Republic of Moldova, shows that around 5 million cubic meters of gas leave across the Prut every day, the largest quantities ever recorded for bilateral trade between two Romanian states. In this chapter it should be mentioned that gas exports from the right to the left of the Prut represent about 20% of Romania's current gas production. Part of this volume comes from gas reserves stored since the summer by the government in Chisinau in underground deposits beyond the Prut, but most of it is gas extracted from Romania's subsoil.
It is a well-known fact that Chisinau's nerve point in the energy crisis is the electricity supply. Until Gazprom cut off Moldova's gas supplies from January 1, 2025, most of the electricity for the right bank was supplied at a reasonable price by the Cuciurgan power plant, which generates electricity from Russian gas, but which the breakaway region did not pay for, accumulating a debt of over 11 billion dollars. Chisinau was paying the electricity with 20 million dollars a month, money that went into the Tiraspol regime's budget, which really represented a substantial financial support for Transnistrian separatism.
One of the collateral consequences of the cessation of Russian gas supplies to Moldova has been the disappearance of this embarrassing situation for Chisinau of unexpected financial support for the separatist regime in Tiraspol. However, by provoking the energy crisis in the Republic of Moldova, Moscow has unwittingly shot itself in the foot, bringing its creature in the person of the Tiraspol separatist regime on the verge of economic collapse. And this already speaks of the drastic narrowing of Moscow's real possibilities to influence the state of affairs in the Republic of Moldova through traditional policies of economic blackmail.
The current government in Chisinau is often accused, sometimes rightly, of not reacting adequately and in time to the danger of Russian energy blackmail. However, it would be unfair not to take into account the measures taken by the government in anticipating the dangers of the energy crisis caused by Russia. The main support for Moldova has traditionally come from Romania, which today guarantees the supply of more than 50% of the electricity needed by Moldova. The Energocom company announced on September 18 last year that starting next month it will start buying electricity produced by the Cernavodă nuclear power plant in Romania. The reserved quantity of electricity is 10 MW, with the possibility of increasing the volume as needed, the price of which is 400 RON/MWh, capped by the Romanian government.
As was to be expected, the gas crisis provoked by Moscow is accompanied by the intensification of the propaganda war, in which Russia is trying to portray the Chisinau authorities as guilty for the humanitarian disaster in Transnistria. This has even led to provocative accusations by the Moscow MFA spokesperson Maria Zaharova, who accused Chisinau of using "neo-Nazi practices" against the Transnistrian population.
Moscow's propaganda attacks against Chisinau are perfectly synchronized with the reactions of Tiraspol, which, to the detriment of the interests of the population of the region, has rejected the Moldovan authorities' offer to help Tiraspoltransgaz to organize the purchase of gas on any European platform. This reaction by the separatist regime in Tiraspol leaves no doubt that it is playing in tandem with its Moscow curators in promoting the strategy of using gas as a weapon against the Republic of Moldova, which has long been a target of Russia's hybrid war.
Unlike the ordinary people in the Transnistrian area controlled by the separatist regime and left in the cold and darkness by the authorities, the Chisinau government, by a decision of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, has asked Moldovagaz to supply natural gas to 14 localities in the Anenii Noi, Causeni and Dubasari districts under the control of Chisinau, which are connected to the Transnistrian region's networks. At the same time, the Premier Energy Distribution company would supply electricity to the villages of Varnitsa and Copanca, which are also connected to the electricity grids on the left bank of the Dniester. Unlike the separatist regime in Tiraspol, the Chisinau government is taking all necessary measures to protect the interests of Transnistrians under its jurisdiction.
In the face of Moscow's gas blackmail, Chisinau has the EU's consistent support. The Republic of Moldova continues to face external pressures and remain resilient, well connected to European energy networks, thanks to the support of the European Union, said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after a recent discussion with Prime Minister Dorin Recean. Romanian and EU assistance to Moldova leaves the Kremlin's plans to bring Chisinau to its economic knees without prospects.
Under these circumstances, all Moscow's hopes are focused on the objective of the propaganda war, which is aimed at maximizing the natural discontent of Moldovan citizens caused by the difficulties inherent in the standard of living in the energy crisis. At stake for Moscow is this year's parliamentary elections, and the propaganda attack is the main weapon used to overthrow the pro-European government in Chisinau.
In order to deal with this propaganda war, the government has the task of cooperating with the pro-European party as a whole to develop more strategies and measures to combat disinformation. A combative information strategy is needed not only to prohibit and punish the spread of false narratives, but also to create a dominant collective perception in Moldovan society of the lack of alternative to the economic and political support for the Republic of Moldova coming from Romania, the European Union, the USA and international organizations. This is also the source of the technical and financial assistance which is crucial for consolidating democracy and resilience in the face of the propaganda war unleashed by Russia.
In conclusion, the pro-European government in Moldova is making significant efforts to resist the Russian propaganda war. However, the success of these measures depends on the mobilization and active involvement of civil society in the democratic process and in supporting the European course. It is vital for more and more citizens to realize that the Republic of Moldova is saved, first and foremost, by Romania's assistance in overcoming the energy crisis, while the development and economic security of the left bank of the Prut River is decisively dependent on the establishment of a common economic area between two Romanian states. Interconnection with Romania is the surest way to definitively remove the Republic of Moldova from Moscow's orbit of influence and to anchor this area in the EU and NATO.
The prospect of this economic and political realignment of the two banks of the Prut must become a central electoral theme at the forthcoming parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova, contributing to a general mobilization of the massive mass of voters with Euro-unionist views, a prerequisite without which it will not be possible to guarantee the formation of a Europenist majority in the future parliament.
IPN publishes in the Op-Ed rubric opinion pieces submitted by authors not affiliated with our editorial board. The opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily coincide with the opinions of our editorial board.
