After the world media, including the Financial Times and the National Interest, ascertained that the current energy crisis is manipulated by Russia for political purposes and Moldova became a relevant example, Jamestown Foundation will organize a webinar entitled “Gazprom Versus Moldova. Lessons in Energy Vulnerability and the Search for a Way Out”. A statement issued before the event says “Gazprom recently provoked a natural gas supply crisis in Moldova with international reverberations. The state-owned Russian gas giant acted at the Kremlin’s behest to destabilize Moldova’s new, Western-oriented authorities and extract political concessions from them”, IPN reports.

The organizers consider “the gas supply agreements signed on October 29 are a temporary solution on Russian terms, preserving Gazprom's monopoly. Coordinated with it, Russia's state-owned conglomerate Inter-RAO UES quasi-monopolizes Moldova's electricity supplies from its Transnistrian plant operating with Gazprom’s gas. The artificially induced supply crisis exemplifies Russia’s use of its dominant positions in energy supply and transportation as instruments of power politics.”

The panel, made up of energy security experts from both sides of the Atlantic, will discuss the future of Moldova’s relationship with Gazprom and Russia through the lenses of the energy crisis in Europe, Moscow’s regional goals, and the political situation inside Moldova. Among the experts is Sergiu Tofilat, former advisor to President Maia Sandu on energy affairs.

The Zoom webinar will take place on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, starting at 11:00 AM.