The crisis in Transnistria, where the cessation of Russian gas deliveries has brought the region to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, could benefit Chișinău, reports IPN, citing Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
This month's interruption of gas supplies increases the risk of a humanitarian crisis in the separatist region, with potentially significant geopolitical implications.
Although the current developments could create opportunities for Chișinău, a possible "thawing" of the conflict in the area also carries risks, warns the German daily.
FAZ recalls that since 1992, Russia has supplied gas to Transnistria for free, benefiting both the region and the Republic of Moldova. Easy access to energy allowed Transnistria to maintain an economic structure based on subsidies from Russia.
However, now it is not Russia but the Republic of Moldova—already in a precarious financial situation—that would have to supply Transnistria with subsidized gas purchased on European markets.
This move is risky in an election year, something Chișinău is well aware of, which is why it is demanding political concessions from Russia, German journalists note.
"There is no official list of demands yet, but Moldovan government officials suggest it could include: the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria, the dismantling of the ‘peacekeeping forces’ stationed along Moldova's demarcation line and their replacement with a European civilian mission, as well as the transfer of control over the Russian ammunition depot near the Transnistrian town of Cobasna to Moldovan authorities and international experts," a government source in Chișinău told FAZ.
"If all these conditions were implemented, there would be little left of Transnistria, and we would automatically find ourselves in a process of reintegrating the region into the Moldovan state," the newspaper writes, citing officials from Chișinău.
However, the situation remains far from resolution, and the region continues to be an equation with multiple unknowns, the German publication analyzes. Nevertheless, it is clear that more changes have taken place in the region in the past few weeks than in many years.
