MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. The Moldovan authorities are using gas blackmail on Transnistria to essentially "starve it into submission," Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergey Shoigu said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

"The basic gas needs of Transnistria are now covered by our humanitarian supplies," the official said. "The position of Moldovan leaders is at the same time quite surprising. While Chisinau apparently does not give up claims to reunite with Tiraspol, it only allows the bare minimum of gas to flow to the left bank for public needs. For the rest, it tries to charge a prohibitive tariff. This can not be called anything other than blackmail, an attempt to starve someone into submission," Shoigu stressed.

The government of Moldovan President Maia Sandu has with this policy practically shut down the Moldovan Power Plant which "generated electricity and supplied it to the right bank at reasonable prices," Shoigu noted. "Chisinau currently imports electricity from Romania at a price several times higher," the official stressed. "A state of emergency in the energy sphere even had to be declared due to the outage of Isaccea - Vulcanesti power transmission line. It turns out that Chisinau sacrifices the welfare of its citizens to inflict harm on Transnistria," he added.