The amounts of gas supplied to the Transnistrian region should be contingent on the fulfillment of region democratization conditions, said the president of the Coalition for Unity and Welfare (CUB) Igor Munteanu. According to the politician, Chisinau is much too tolerant towards the self-styled Transnistrian authorities, offering natural gas to the region free of charge and this way indirectly financing separatism. The energy crisis is Chisinau’s chance to disband the separatist regime by economic strangling and by obliging the region to pay for the received gas, IPN reports.
The CUB president said the authorities in Chisinau should profit from the energy crisis and should accelerate the process of disbanding the separatist regime in Tiraspol by stopping the free natural gas supplies to the left side of the Nistru.
“Those from Transnistria should feel the effects of the halt in sales of electricity from the Kuchurgan power plant to us. How? By not supplying natural gas that goes to the Steel Works, crytocurrency companies. These are the main instruments by which the kleptocrats in the Transnistrian region enrich themselves. As long as Tiraspol makes money from the supplied gas without paying for it, they have money to survive as a separatist entity. The separatist regime should be disbanded in a more determined way. The survival of the separatist regime is for us a death threat. The energy crisis is an occasion for applying plan B in relation to the clique of militarized separatists in Tiraspol and to make them show a respectful attitude,” Igor Munteanu stated in the talk show “Résumé” on RliveTV channel.
Igor Munteanu noted that the Transnistrian conflict should be solved as swiftly as possible or Tiraspol will stop the European integration process in Moldova. An economic blockage is the most efficient method of destroying the separatist regime.
“If we do not impose conditions concerning the democratization of the region in exchange for gas supplies, we lose an extraordinary chance. We must also impose conditions regarding the liberalization of the public space, democratization for allowing the region to export. The 9,000 soldiers in the region are financed with incomes that the region earns from the amounts of gas supplied by Gazprom. We must accelerate the disbanding of the separatist regime by economic strangling and by closing of accounts, not by 1+1 format talks and offering of alms to Tiraspol for electrical energy. They should be told that they will no longer receive natural gas if they do not follow Chisinau’s instructions. We can offer crude oil to the left side of the Nistru, to public institutions there as humanitarian aid, but natural gas should be supplied only for money,” stated Igor Munteanu.
In November, Gazprom supplies to Moldova only 5.7 million m3 of gas a day. This is 51% of the volume of gas stipulated in the contract. Of the supplied amount, 3.4 million m3of gas a day is used by the right side of the Nistru, while 2.3 million m3 by the left side. The Transnistrian region receives by over 40% less gas than in October.
