CHISINAU, December 23. /TASS/. Moldova is committed to a peaceful resolution of the Transnistrian problem, the country’s Bureau for Reintegration said, commenting on reports from Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service about Moldovan President Maua Sandu’s plans to launch a military operation against the unrecognized republic.

"Chisinau is firmly committed to its position on the settlement of the Transnistrian problem: by peaceful means, through talks, trying not to harm stability in the country and the region," it said. Moldova’s leadership "has repeatedly expressed its readiness to work with all dialogue partners to reduce potential risks and mitigate problems that may affect people and the regional economy."

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said in a statement made available to TASS that the Moldovan president had recently convened a meeting on energy security issues with senior government officials where she "emphasized the need to organize a military operation to take control of Transnistria and end Russia’s peacekeeping presence in the region." The SVR pointed out that "the EU leadership can think of no way to calm down the emotionally unstable Moldovan president."

On December 16, Moldova introduced a state of emergency due to the threat of a humanitarian crisis in connection with the possible termination of Russian gas transit through Ukraine. The move came amid popular protests against another rise of tariffs for household gas. Kiev’s plans to halt the transit of Russian gas from January 1 only added uncertainty. Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in early December that the termination of supplies of Russian gas to Transnistria, which generates up to 80% of electricity consumed in Moldova, will not merely entail a dramatic rise in electricity prices but may trigger a humanitarian catastrophe in the winter.

After Russia’s gas giant Gazprom, which used to be the sole gas provider to Moldova, reduced daily supplies by 30%, to 5.7 million cubic meters, in October 2022, Chisinau decided to redirect this gas to Transnistria, where the Moldovan power plant is located.