CHISINAU, January 14. /TASS/. President of the unrecognized republic of Transnistria Vadim Krasnoselsky held talks in Moscow to discuss ways out of the republic’s energy crisis, a source in the Transnistrian government told TASS.
"Transnistrian President Vadim Krasnoselsky held talks in Moscow on how to get out of the energy crisis. At ten in the morning on Wednesday, he will give a news conference in Tiraspol on the talks’ results," the source said.
According to Moldovan media, Krasnoselsky was accompanied by Transnistrian Minister of Economic Development Sergey Obolonik.
Earlier, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that Krasnoselsky had flown to Moscow out of Chisinau airport.
"Krasnoselsky is free to travel across Moldova. He visited Moscow. Chisinau does not stand in the way of searching for ways to resolve the gas crisis. We allow gas to be pumped up to Transnistria because we want this humanitarian crisis to end as soon as possible," Sandu said after a meeting of the country’s Supreme Security Council dedicated to the energy crisis. According to the Moldovan president, following the termination of gas transit via Ukraine, gas to Transnistria can be pumped via the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, across Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Gas supplies to Moldova were interrupted in early January after Kiev banned Russian gas transit via its territory. Meanwhile, Chisinau refused to repay its gas debt to Russia, estimated by the Russian side at $709 million. Since unlike Moldova, Transnistria has no other gas sources, it had to cut centralized heating and hot water supplies to residential houses and halt industrial enterprises. The Moldovan power plant located on the Dniester left bank and owned by Russia’s Inter RAO, which used to meet 80% of Moldova’s power demand, has switched to using coal, with its reserves being enough to last until late January or mid-February. After the Moldovan power plant suspended supplies to Moldova, Chisinau was forced to buy more expensive electricity from Romania and hence raise tariffs, stirring public outcry and severe criticism from the opposition.