CHISINAU, February 7. /TASS/. In giving Transnistria gas on credit, Europe is trying to strip the republic of its sovereignty just like USAID and Western NGOs did with Moldova, Moldova’s former president said.
Commenting on Moldova-initiated preconditions for receiving aid from the European Union, the leader of Moldova’s Party of Socialists and former president of the country, Igor Dodon, said in a video address on his Telegram channel: "For Transnistria, they want a repeat of what happened on the right bank [of the Dniester River] with the help of USAID, the Soros foundation, all those guys. The right bank surrendered its sovereignty to Europe, a fatal mistake. Now they want the same for the left bank."
In his words, Transnistria "is being blockaded."
"They want it to surrender all control to Brussels, threatening that they will receive no gas otherwise. This is a no-win situation. If Chisinau goes ahead with its blockade of Transnistria, nothing good will come out of it," Dodon added.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said earlier the European Union was ready to allocate another 60 million euro to help Transnistria overcome its energy crisis, on the condition that the unrecognized republic’s government comply with certain requirements in the human rights domain. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean added that Tiraspol will also be obliged to bring its gas prices for household consumers in line with market prices and exclude energy-intensive industries and major exporters from the program.
A member of the unrecognized republic’s legislature, Andrey Safonov, told TASS that these requirements were aimed at crippling the country’s economy and laying the ground for social upheaval.
A state of emergency has been in effect in Moldova and Transnistria due to the termination of Russian gas transit through Ukraine starting on January 1. In Transnistria, central heating and hot water supply to residential buildings were turned off and industrial enterprises were shut down in order to save resources. The Moldovan State District Power Plant, which is located on the left bank of the Dniester and provided 80% of Moldova's electricity needs, was converted to coal.
The first gas volumes began to flow to Transnistria on February 1. The gas was purchased with an EU grant of 20 million euros. It was noted that this would be enough for 10 days of consumption by the private sector and small businesses. After this period, it is expected that the agreements between the Transnistrian leadership, Russia and Hungary on long-term gas supplies should be implemented.
The republic’s President Vadim Krasnoselsky said talks with Russia and Hungary on long-term gas supplies and loans were under way.