Russian supply cuts will cost Moldova more than $1 billion this winter to cover additional energy costs, according to a draft document. The sum amounts to 8% of one of Europe’s poorest economies, Bloomberg has said.
The 19-page draft, to be presented to foreign diplomats and leaders ahead of a Nov. 21 support conference for Moldova in Paris, describes a sustained campaign by Moscow and local “criminal groups” to bring down the pro-Western government of the nation wedged between Ukraine and Romania by stoking turmoil.
The costs amount to €1.1 billion and Moldova intends to ask the EU countries for €450 million in support to be able to cover the budget deficit, to protect consumers and to satisfy the country’s needs in winter. Military assistance will also be asked to strengthen the modest defense system after Russian missiles started to cross Moldova’s airspace.
In an interview, Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicu Popescu said the shelling of Ukrainian energy infrastructure and cutting of natural gas supplies to Moldova by Russia as from November led to a halt in the import of electricity from the previous sources. Currently, about 80% of the electricity needed by Moldova is bought from Romania, while the rest is produced locally. Russia’s intentional actions are aimed at destabilizing the Republic of Moldova, at undermining it economy and political system, in general.
Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova denied the assertions that Russia uses energy as a weapon, calling them absurd and saying that the gas giant Gazprom has a purely commercial behavior and it offered Moldova “preferential conditions”. She accused the Moldovan government of trying to distract the citizens’ attention from the country’s economic problems.
