The Republic of Moldova should not accept the offer of cheap Russian gas, as it entails major risks of energy dependence and geopolitical blackmail from Russia. The opinion belongs to the expert Igor Botan and was made during the public debate on "The first lessons of the energy crisis in the Eastern region", organized by the IPN News Agency.
Igor Botan emphasized that the lessons of the recent energy crisis should be a point of reflection for politicians, who should avoid misinforming the society on this sensitive issue.
"The main lesson politicians should learn from the energy crisis in the Eastern region of the Republic of Moldova is not to allow misinformation of citizens and society. As far as the citizens are concerned, they react to price increases by taking money out of their own pocket, and the authorities need to take this factor into account," said Igor Botan, the project's permanent expert.
According to the expert, 2025 is an extremely important electoral year for the Republic of Moldova, and the energy issue will be used by certain political actors for electoral purposes.
"This year, we have an important electoral exercise, and propagandists and unfriends of the Republic of Moldova will try to use the energy issue to create the bleakest possible image for the country's future," Igor Botan explained.
Botan criticized the rhetoric of some pro-Russian forces, which promote the idea that Moldova should return to buying gas from Russia because of the lower price. The expert stressed that the risks associated with dependence on Russian energy resources are far too high.
"We increasingly hear the rhetoric that we should buy Russian gas because it is cheaper. The answer is that Russia resorts to energy blackmail and Moldova must not fall prey to this rhetoric again. Market logic says that you should buy from where it is cheaper, but it is very dangerous for Moldova to fall into this trap of blackmail used by Russia", said Igor Botan.
The public debate on "First lessons from the energy crisis in the Eastern region" is organized in the framework of the project "IPN News Agency for social cohesion and pro-European Moldova", funded by IMS.
