Since gaining independence in the 90s, the Republic of Moldova has been locked in a frozen conflict with Russia over Transnistria, a separatist region with over a quarter of a million inhabitants, supported by the Kremlin and located on Moldova’s eastern border, the site recalls the Politico.
The Republic of Moldova receives low-cost Russian energy through Transnistria, which in return receives hundreds of millions of euros a year, which has allowed Moscow to retain control of the strip of land on Moldova’s border with Ukraine, where its troops are stationed , despite Chisinau’s objections.
The Russian-owned Cuciurgan power plant in Transnistria is Moldova’s largest source of energy, supplying around four-fifths of the country’s energy in exchange for hundreds of millions of euros a year. Moldova also relies on high-voltage cables that pass through Transnistria, giving the region – and its Russian partners – even greater influence.
“The beauty of this for the Russians was that by buying electricity from the Transnistrian region, we were basically financing separatism in our own country,” said Moldovan energy minister Victor Parlicov.
“Moldova no longer depends on Transnistria”
However, the situation is changing because, in recent years, the Republic of Moldova has moved closer to the EU under the pro-European leadership of President Maia Sandu. Thus, Brussels offered Chisinau tens of millions of euros to build infrastructure and strengthen its connection to European energy networks, thus offsetting the costs of sourcing from elsewhere. This means that Moldova no longer has to buy gas from Transnistria.
“Moldova no longer depends on Transnistria. When it comes to gas, we buy gas from the international market. On the electricity side, we are building high-voltage lines to connect to Romania,” explained Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi to Politico.
The risk of humanitarian crisis
Giving up dependence on energy received through Transnistria, however, comes with problems for both the Moldovan government and Tiraspol.
Stopping payments to Transnistria would collapse the breakaway republic’s budget and leave hundreds of thousands of people without income and basic services. Such a challenge for a country the size of the Republic of Moldova would be equivalent to the reunification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, notes the quoted publication.
In this context, Minister Victor Parlicov states that “the elites of Transnistria already recognize that we buy electricity from the region not because we have to, but because the alternative is to throw the region into a humanitarian crisis”.
The Republic of Moldova is aware that the destruction of Transnistria’s economic engine will have consequences for its citizens, those it wants to reintegrate into Moldovan society.
“We are talking about up to 300,000 people, almost all of them are our citizens, and they must be offered basic services,” Parlicov said.
More than three decades after Moldova broke away from the USSR, 1,500 Russian soldiers are still stationed in Transnistria, which has developed its own armed forces, public services and pension systems, all financed by the sale of cheap Russian energy to Moldova.
“Resolving the energy problem with Transnistria would be an important step forward”
Since Maia Sandu came to power in 2020, the Republic of Moldova has made progress in fighting corruption, reforming public institutions and strengthening democracy. For its efforts, the country received EU candidate status last year, and talks on joining the bloc are ongoing.
However, there are question marks regarding the possibility of Moldova joining the EU in the conditions where it has a separatist conflict and Russian troops stationed on its territory.
European politicians have suggested that the Transnistria issue could be resolved before Moldova’s application for membership passes the last hurdle. Instead, Moldovan leaders are asking Brussels not to let Moscow determine the country’s fate within the EU.
“Resolving the energy problem with Transnistria would be an important step forward. But will this be enough for Transnistria to slowly but steadily integrate into the country?”, asks Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, a German MEP and member of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
In March, officials from Transnistria called on the Kremlin to protect the region “against pressure from the Republic of Moldova,” claiming that it is staging an economic blockade despite the daily flow of goods and services passing through Russian checkpoints.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leadership in Moscow have intensified their rhetoric against the Republic of Moldova, but, notes Politico, Russia’s ability to intervene in this situation is limited.
However, Moscow can create problems for Moldova, adds the cited publication, which recalls that last year, Kiev’s intelligence services warned that they had intercepted a plan by Moscow to organize a coup d’état and oust Maia Sandu .
Thus, the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for October will be a critical moment for Moldovans to decide their future, as well as an opportunity for external powers such as Russia to interfere in the country’s internal situation.
Photo: Profimedia
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Tags: Chisinaus Plan Reduce Russian Influence Transnistria Lets Throw
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