The war in Ukraine and the energy crisis revealed the interdependence between the two banks of the Nistru, said former Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Alexandru Flenchea. According to him, Chisinau does not have sufficient leverage over Tiraspol as even the electrical energy bought by Energocom from Romania goes through the distribution node of the Kuchurgan power plant. PAS MP Lilian Carp said that Moldova during 30 years hasn’t built the necessary infrastructure and hasn’t diversified the supply sources, maintaining energy dependence, IPN reports.
“The energy system of the Republic of Moldova was built in the Soviet period and all the switches are on the left side of the Nistru. The problem is during 30 years we built only one pipeline, Iasi-Chisinau, and in winter this pipeline can regrettably satisfy only 70% of the needs of the right side. The electrical energy we buy goes also through the Transnistrian region. We are now building the Vulcănești-Chisinau power line, but this is not enough. A new Botoșani-Balti line is needed to also supply the northern districts with power,” Lilian Carp stated in the program “Shadow Cabinet” on JurnalTV channel.
For his part, ex-Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alexandru Slusari said the official Chisinau should exert pressure on Tiraspol so as to obtain cheaper electrical energy. Or else, it should impose economic restrictions on Transnistrian businesses.
“The Transnistrian region is a component of the Russian Federation’s blackmail. They obediently fulfill the orders from Moscow. We need to take care of the citizens from the right side. When I hear poet Serebrian saying that 90% of the citizens on the left side are citizens of the Republic of Moldova, I wonder, do the citizens have only rights or also obligations? To pay taxes, to be loyal to the state? Our task is to make them supply us with electricity at the price of US$40-50. The Republic of Moldova loses 4 billion lei by not collecting import taxes. They make use of all the concessions offered by the Free Trade Agreement on export,” stated Alexandru Slusari.
“The Republic of Moldova does not have real leverage over the Transnistrian region to impose what it wants. It can impose conditions in the field of trade, but these cannot determine the future of this region. Chisinau does not also have energy resources to support them. The energy crisis and the war showed how interdependent the two banks of the Nistru are. Tiraspol can leave us without electricity because the distribution node through which electricity comes from Romania is in Kuchurgan. In case of escalation, if they do not have what to lose, they can use this instrument,” said ex-Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Alexandru Flenchea.
In a public debate hosted by IPN on Tuesday, incumbent Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian said the persons who speak about the necessity of taking harsher measures in relation to Tiraspol do not take into account the fact that the regime there can take revenge. Over 90% of the inhabitants of the Transnistrian region are Moldovan citizens and the calls made by some to “punish” them by stripping them of energy resources are morally and legally inappropriate.
