Moldova summons Russian embassy rep over position on Transnistria energy crisis

Moldova's Foreign Ministry has summoned a representative of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau after Russia issued a statement regarding the energy crisis in Transnistria. 

The Ministry’s spokesperson, Tatiana Barak, shared the development via her Telegram channel, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

According to Barak, Russia's remarks have negatively impacted the relationship between Chisinau and Moscow.

"In light of this, the representative of the Russian Federation’s embassy was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the statement read.

On January 6, the Russian Embassy expressed concern over the "rapidly deteriorating situation" in the unrecognized breakaway region of Transnistria, following the cessation of Russian gas supplies to the area on January 1. The embassy claimed that the energy crisis in Transnistria was "artificially created by the collective West and Ukraine." The statement further accused the media in Chisinau and Kyiv of "cynically shifting responsibility" for the energy crisis onto Russia.

Transnistria, unlike Moldova, lacks alternative sources of natural gas. In response to the crisis, the region has been forced to cut central heating and hot water supplies to residential areas, halt industrial activities, and implement rolling power outages. The Moldovan power plant on the left bank of the Dniester River, Moldovan state district power plant, has switched to coal, with supplies expected to last until the end of January or mid-February.

By Khagan Isayev