Transdniestria complains about actions of Moldovan leadership to UN, OSCE
TIRASPOL/CHISINAU. Nov 23 (Interfax) - Transdniestria has complained about actions of the Moldovan leadership to the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
A letter signed by Transdniestrian leader Vladimir Krasnoselsky and Supreme Council Chairman Alexander Korshunov says that "Transdniestria has found itself in energy crisis, which is fraught with a humanitarian catastrophe," the Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic said.
"The crisis derives from the actual refusal of Chisinau to fulfill every agreement signed earlier, the enhanced transport and economic blockade on Transdniestria, and the attempts at nullifying the work of the internationally recognized 5+2 negotiating format," the letter said.
"Officials in Chisinau are creating various sorts of obstacles to foreign economic operations, are limiting the supply of essential goods, including drugs and necessities, and pressuring Transdniestrian economic entities," it said.
"The amount of natural gas supply to Moldova and Transdniestria decreased in October for reasons beyond Transdniestria's control. Under these circumstances, the Moldovan leadership flagrantly breached contractual obligations and took the path of illegal taking of some of the natural gas meant for Transdniestria," the letter said.
The letter authors urged the UN and the OSCE "to influence the Moldovan leadership for the sake of the soonest stopping of their energy and economic blackmail and the prevention of a humanitarian catastrophe in Transdniestria."
As Interfax reported earlier, Transdniestria declared an economic state of emergency for the period between October 20 and December 1. The operation of Moldova Steel Works and some other energy-intensive enterprises has been suspended, trolleybus service has been limited, and hot water supply has been reduced to three hours a day in Transdniestria. The Transdniestrian Security Council said that "actions of Moldova flagrantly breached the current contract between Moldovagaz and Gazprom, according to which 118 mcm out of 171 mcm of natural gas supplied to Moldova should go to Transdniestria."
Moldovagaz CEO Vadim Ceban told reporters on Tuesday that the contract between Moldovagaz and Gazprom does distribute the supplied gas between the western and eastern banks of the Dniester. According to him, Transdniestria gets 40% of gas supplied to Moldova, although its population makes up less than 20% of Moldova's population.
Gazprom cut gas supply to Moldova to 5.7 mcm per day on October 1. The gas supply meets only 51% of the demand in November.
Moldova recommends Transdniestria contact Moscow
In the meantime, the Reintegration Policies Bureau of the Moldovan government has recommended that the Transdniestrian administration contact Moscow with regard to the energy crisis. The Bureau said so after Tiraspol complained to the United Nations and the OSCE and accused Chisinau of "energy and economic blackmail fraught with a humanitarian catastrophe in Transdniestria."
"Tiraspol's accusations have the wrong addressee. The energy crisis faced by the Republic of Moldova, including its Transdniestrian region, is not caused by the actions of Chisinau, instead, it results from the decision of the Russian company Gazprom to cut the amount of natural gas supplied to Moldovagaz," the Bureau said in a statement published on the Prima Sursa (Original Source) Telegram channel.