CHISINAU, January 24. /TASS/. Thousands of residents of Transnistria took to the streets near the administrative border with Moldova in the cities of Bendery, Rybnitsa and Dubossary, demanding that the Moldovan government allow Russian gas into the unrecognized republic, hit by a devastating energy crisis.
Protestors are carrying banners saying "Moldova, let the gas through," "No to the genocide of the Transnistrian people," "Moldova is to blame for the deaths of Transnistrian citizens," the Novosti Pridnestrovya news portal reported.
"The government of Moldova does not grasp the scale of the suffering and hardship the people of Transnistria are facing. If Chisinau had truly wanted to resolve the energy crisis, it would have done so immediately, and many other problems would have been avoided," the chair of Transnistria’s council of labor unions, Vladimir Yemelyanov said during the rally.
"If they had really cared about the people here, we would have come to terms back in the 1990s, reaching an agreement on the peaceful co-existence of the two countries: Transnistria could have become an autonomy within Moldova or a free economic zone. But they have a different goal, they want to crush and destroy the people of Transnistria. This is what they really want!" the politician added.
In turn, a member of the Union of Transnistrian Defenders, Anatoly Bulda, said: "Residents of Bendery are alarmed by the fact that Moldova has created this energy crisis, to go along with the political, transport and information blockade. But I think that we are a strong nation, and we will survive."
Gas supplies to Moldova were halted in early January after Kiev had banned the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine and Chisinau had refused to settle its debt for consumed gas, which the Russian side estimates at $709 million. Unlike Moldova, Transnistria does not have alternative sources of gas. In order to save money, central heating was turned off in the unrecognized republic, hot water supply to residential buildings was stopped, industrial enterprises were stopped, and rolling blackouts began. Rural areas switched to burning wood for heat, in the cities people use electric heaters. The Moldovan State District Power Plant, located on the left bank of the Dniester, has been converted to coal, the reserves of which will last until the end of January or mid-February.
Earlier this week, the leader of the unrecognized republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, flew to Moscow for negotiations and agreed on the resumption of gas supplies. He called upon Moldovan President Maia Sandu not to impede gas traffic and agreed to put Moldova’s largest energy company Moldovagaz in charge of gas supplies to the unrecognized republic. However, the issue still remains unresolved. Sandu said on January 23 that "relevant governmental agencies are examining the possibility of gas deliveries to Transnistria by Moldovagaz."