The European Commission has asked Chisinau to prepare all necessary plans ahead of the expected halt of Russian gas transit through Ukraine to the Transnistrian region and said it is ready to provide support, if needed, to guarantee Moldova's energy security, IPN reports.
Commission sources told Europei Libere that the EU executive is working with Moldova "to ensure this winter the energy security" of the candidate country, as well as its "progress towards a more modern and cleaner energy system" and "reducing its dependence on energy imports from Russia".
Moldovan energy minister Victor Parlicov is traveling to St Petersburg on 24-25 November for talks with Gazprom on how Russian gas supplies to the Transnistrian region can be continued after a transit agreement through Ukraine expires on 1 January.
Moldova says it no longer buys Russian gas for consumption on the right bank of the Dniester, but the gas is vital for Transnistrian consumers, including households and industry, as well as the Cuciurgan power plant. Today, the right bank covers 80% of its electricity consumption from Cuciurgan with Russian gas, and alternatives would be more expensive and unreliable
Other sources in the EU's diplomatic service told Europei Libere last week that they were aware of Chisinau's dilemmas and its decision to talk to Gazprom.
Kiev has long said it does not want to renew the agreement with Gazprom that has regulated the transit of Russian gas for the past five years. Apart from Moldova, several other EU countries still dependent on Russian gas - Hungary, Slovakia, Austria - could be affected.
