Increasing the Transnistrian region’s dependence on Chisinau helps bring the reintegration closer, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian said in an interview with Karadeniz Press, quoted by IPN.
Serebrian said that for Chisinau, the efficient management of the situation generated by the cessation of Russian gas supplies to the Transnistrian region is an opportunity to win the sympathy of the people living on the left bank of the Nistru, most of whom are citizens of the Republic of Moldova.
Referring to polls, the Deputy Premier for Reintegration said that for years there have been "changes for the better in terms of the perception of Chisinau in the Transnistrian region", including the fact that the citizens there would support the country's reintegration. "We will work to strengthen these positive moods. We are ready to help the population on the left bank of the Dniester to cope with the difficult situation that could follow in the coming weeks and months," said Oleg Serebrian.
He reminded that in recent years, the national authorities have taken "effective measures to diversify the sources of gas supply to the controlled territory of the Republic of Moldova, and these measures are already bringing effects for the citizens as they can no longer be blackmailed by anyone with access to the resource."
According to the official, there are alternative solutions for supplying gas to the Transnistrian region, but "the problem is the price of this gas, one that the citizens on the left bank, given the standard of living, salaries and pensions there, cannot bear in case of a sudden change."
Oleg Serebrian pointed out that Chisinau previously urged the representatives of Tiraspol to take measures to gradually increase the price of gas for final consumers in the Transnistrian region, in order to minimize the sudden shock, but the administration in Tiraspol rejected Chisinau's proposals.
"In the end, we must all understand that energy resources have their price, a market price, and that, in the end, the market rules will have to work in the Transnistrian region, the same as those that work on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, not other alleged rules," said Oleg Serebrian.
The Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration assured that the national authorities are in permanent contact with the main international organizations and diplomatic missions accredited in Chisinau, including those of the EU member states, and that they have already announced their readiness to offer Moldova help to overcome the difficult situations that could follow.
