The parliament of Moldova has enacted a national state of emergency for 60 days, commencing on 16 December, in anticipation of a halt in Russian gas supplies starting 1 January.
In a late-night vote just after midnight, fifty-six of the 101 members voted in favor of the resolution, following Prime Minister Dorin Recean’s appeal for approval to ensure the separatist region of Transdniestria receives the necessary gas supplies.
This vote, as Mr. Recean articulated, was aimed at putting an end to “gas blackmail” from Moscow.
By declaring a state of emergency, the government is empowered to take swift action and limit energy exports.
Mr. Recean accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to deprive the population of Transdniestria of gas and electricity, effectively holding them hostage. He stated that Moscow’s intentions are to create instability in Moldova.
He urged parliament to endorse the state of emergency, asserting that “this winter must be the last in the country’s history when we can fall victim to energy blackmail.”
The government expressed in a statement that failing to supply gas to Transdniestria “will lead to a humanitarian crisis… and will pose risks to the stability of Moldova’s electricity sector.”
Moldova imports approximately 2 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia. Since 2022, an agreement has been in place that stipulates all Russian gas that Moldova receives is redirected to Transdniestria.
Transdniestria hosts a power plant fueled by Russian gas, which is crucial to the region’s economy and supplies most of the electricity for areas controlled by the Moldovan government.
The unrecognized region of Transdniestria declared its own state of economic emergency on Tuesday.
Mr. Recean also referred to the transit difficulties through Ukraine as an “artificial problem,” suggesting that Russian gas could be rerouted through alternative pathways.
Moldova proposed that one possibility could involve transporting Russian gas via the Turk Stream pipeline to Turkey, and subsequently through Bulgaria and Romania.
However, the availability of these supplies remains uncertain, as Gazprom is linking continued deliveries through alternative routes to its demand for Moldova to settle a debt of $709 million (€676m) for past supplies, according to Russian assessments.
