Moldova’s Moscow-backed separatists extend state of emergency amid gas cutoff

Jan 10 (Reuters) – Moldova’s Moscow-backed separatist region of Transdniestria extended its state of emergency on Friday for another month as it grapples with an energy crisis after losing access to Russian gas supplies that had propped up its economy for decades.

Russia’s Gazprom suspended gas exports to Transdniestria on Jan. 1, citing unpaid Moldovan debts of $709 million. Moldova disputes that debt and says Moscow is engineering a crisis to undermine its pro-Western government.

Russia used to supply gas to Transdniestria via Ukraine and Moscow blames the crisis on Kyiv, which refused to roll over a gas transit deal that expired on Dec. 31 due to Russia’s invasion. Moldova, which supports Ukraine, says Moscow could use an alternative route to continue supplies.

Residents and businesses in Transdniestria, which broke away from Moldova in the final days of Soviet rule and has long relied exclusively on Russian gas, have since faced gas cutoffs, rolling power cuts and problems with water supplies.

The separatist authorities said on the Telegram app that residents would have five hours of power cuts on Friday and that the state of emergency would be in place until at least Feb. 8.

Moldova’s pro-European government accuses Russia of artificially creating the energy crisis to destabilise the country ahead of this summer’s parliamentary election.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has said Gazprom could supply gas to Transdniestria via an alternative route, TurkStream.

Transdniestria blames Moldova and Ukraine for the energy crisis into which it has been plunged.

An official in Transdniestria said on Wednesday that the breakaway region’s gas storage volumes would be enough for the next 24 days, according to the local Novosti Pridnestrovya outlet.

Transdniestria fought a brief war against Moldovan government forces in 1992 and still hosts 1,500 Russian soldiers on the tiny territory that neighbours Ukraine.