Moldova summons Russian diplomat over ‘disinformation’ about energy crisis in Transnistria

Moldova summoned the Russian charge d’affaires on Thursday for what it described as ‘disinformation’ by the Moscow Embassy in Chisinau concerning the energy crisis in its breakaway Transnistria region.

A statement by the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said Aleksandr Andreev was summoned to the ministry for a meeting where he was informed about Chisinau’s position on the ‘unacceptable nature of false statements’ to undermine the country’s political and economic stability.

‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the responsibility for the energy crisis in the Transnistria region lies exclusively with the Russian Federation and the Gazprom company, which decided to suspend gas supplies contrary to contractual obligations,’ it said.

The statement noted that the ministry has repeatedly asked the Russian Embassy to cease its ‘disinformation campaign’ and ‘manipulation of facts and creation of false narratives’ because it harms ties between Moldova and Russia while increasing regional tensions.

Russian energy company Gazprom announced Dec. 28 that it would cut gas supplies to Moldova beginning Jan. 1, citing ‘the refusal of the Moldovan side to settle the debt for gas supplies.’

Simultaneously, a five-year deal between Moscow and Kyiv on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine expired Jan. 1 as the latter refused to extend the deal amid the war between the two countries.

Transnistria, which has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since the early 1990s​​​​​​, had been receiving Russian gas through Ukraine.

In mid-December, Moldovan authorities introduced a two-month state of emergency in the country’s energy sector.

On Tuesday, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry claimed that the halting of Russian gas supplies to Transnistria is aimed at destabilizing the country, and that the statements of the Russian diplomatic mission are an attempt to “manipulate public opinion” and shift blame for the crisis onto Chisinau or Kyiv.

• Aleksandr Andreev
• Energy Crisis
• Moldova