Moldova’s war with Gazprom: Chisinau is ready to let Tiraspol go
Chisinau can officially recognize Tiraspol’s left-bank gas transportation infrastructure, which Moldova has always considered its own.
In the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, hearings were held on the report of the Accounting Chamber on the audit of JSC Moldovagaz, and one of the decisions contains a recommendation to the government “to take action to suspend the voting rights” of the unrecognized Transnistria on its shares, if control over the property on the left bank of the Dniester in Moldova in the near future time cannot be restored.
Chairman of the Board of JSC Moldovagaz Vadim Ceban told reporters that if the deprivation of voting rights takes place, then “Tiraspol will only have to thank the Parliament of Moldova for this.”
The fact is that in 2006, the authorities of the unrecognized PMR created the Tiraspoltransgaz-Transnistria enterprise, to which all local gas assets were transferred. Moldova has never recognized this decision of the Transnistrian authorities. Now, if the Transnistrian authorities, as a shareholder of Moldovagaz, are deprived of voting rights, “Moldova, in fact, will agree to the withdrawal of property on the left bank of the Dniester from the share capital of Moldovagaz, which it did not agree with previously,” Cheban said.
Will there be a “civilized divorce” between Moldova and Transnistria on the gas issue? The director of the Institute of Socio-Political Research and Regional Development, Igor Shornikov, commented on the situation to PolitNavigator.
PolitNavigator: Chisinau intends to drain the gas infrastructure located in Transnistria out of thoughtlessness? Somehow, such actions of Moldova do not really fit into the logic of relations with Tiraspol. If, after all, the government of the Republic of Moldova is deliberately leading to the withdrawal of property on the left bank of the Dniester from the share capital of Moldovagaz, then why?
Igor Shornikov: The current authorities in the energy sector have one strategic task - to eliminate dependence on the Russian Gazprom. A year and a half of efforts have already been crowned with the first “successes”: formally, Moldova no longer consumes Russian gas, and Russia supplies only to Transnistria.
It is difficult to say whose actual success this is, Tiraspol has long sought separate gas supplies from Moldova, and asked in Chisinau for the appropriate license for Tiraspoltransgaz.
In fact, it was Transnistria that achieved its goal, although this is not spoken loudly anywhere. And now things are moving towards the exclusion of Tiraspoltransgaz from JSC Moldovagaz and the division of networks that were considered unified. In JSC Moldovagaz, Pridnestrovie had 14% of the shares, Gazprom had 51% of the shares.
Most likely, the Moldovan authorities are preparing Moldovagaz for bankruptcy in order to collect the gas infrastructure on the right bank, which is now owned by Gazprom, for debts. Chisinau needs this in order to be able to deliver gas of non-Russian origin to consumers.
Now, while the contract with Gazprom is in force, this is impossible. If everything goes according to the Chisinau scenario, Tiraspoltransgaz will enter into a direct agreement with Gazprom for gas supplies to Transnistria, and Moldova will finally lose the opportunity to receive cheap energy resources and will be forced to buy gas on European markets.
PolitNavigator: Suppose Gazprom and Tiraspoltransgaz - Pridnestrovie began to build relations directly, without Moldovagaz. On what principles can such cooperation be built? Where will Transnistria's gigantic gas debt go?
Igor Shornikov: The Transnistrian side stated two decades ago that it was interested in a direct agreement with Gazprom and was ready to pay for its gas debts. The President of the PMR, Vadim Krasnoselsky, has repeatedly spoken about this.
Chisinau found itself on a stretch. On the one hand, it is important for him to maintain formal sovereignty over Transnistria, which means that he will have to recognize the gas debt. But 8 billion dollars is a debt that not only Moldova, but also Romania, which so wants to absorb Moldova, cannot bear. Moreover, now this debt is too much for the European Union to handle. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that in Chisinau, Bucharest or in more distant capitals, they decided to get rid of Transnistria as ballast, but take Moldova.
The change in the status of Tiraspoltransgaz is unlikely to have any impact on the work of the Pridnestrovian energy sector, and Pridnestrovian consumers will definitely not feel any changes.
PolitNavigator: If Chisinau recognizes the left bank gas infrastructure of Transnistria, how will Moldovan legislation, in particular the sensational law on separatism, look at this decision?
Igor Shornikov: How, when and in relation to whom to apply the laws “on separatism”, “on conspiracy against Moldova” and other acts that undermine civil peace in the republic is the sovereign right of Chisinau. Of course, these laws were not written for the ruling PAS party and not for the unionists. The situation in the field of justice in Moldova is such that it can no longer be called a legal state, even formally. Judges are fleeing this system like rats from a sinking ship. So the party in power does not expect any problems on this side.
PolitNavigator: Chisinau announced it had achieved independence from Russian gas at the end of last year. It was reported that for the first time in the history of Moldova, the right bank will not consume gas supplied by Gazprom (although the dependence on Transnistrian electricity generated by gas from Gazprom has not gone away).
At the same time, residents of the Republic of Moldova, including at protests, criticize the country’s leadership for its reluctance to negotiate with Russia on supplies and more favorable gas prices. What is the forecast: what will happen next with relations between Moldova and Gazprom, especially against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis?
Igor Shornikov: Most likely, a huge scandal awaits Moldova. Chisinau does not fulfill its contractual obligations. The situation with the audit of Moldovan debt to Gazprom is especially egregious; its results should have been presented by May 2022, but the Moldovan side is still evading. Moldova’s debt exceeds $700 million, and the authorities do not want to recognize it, much less give it back.
And although everything is developing according to a bad scenario for Moldova, I would still refrain from making a negative forecast for now. Moldova can theoretically do without Russian gas, but so far it cannot do without electricity, which is generated for it in Transnistria from the same Russian gas.
Last November, Chisinau experienced a series of blackouts, when in practice it turned out that Romania is not able to cover even the minimum electricity needs of Moldova. The Russian-owned Moldavian State District Power Plant is a key enterprise in the region, on which energy flows from Romania, Moldova and the Odessa region depend. In order for Romanian electricity to reach Moldova, the Moldavian State District Power Plant itself must generate electricity. So we can’t do without Russia here either.
I admit that Chisinau itself will slow down the progress of a solution until the last possible moment. In fact, Moldova understands perfectly well that the separation from Gazprom, which the Europeans and Americans insist on, only harms Moldova itself. Perhaps in Chisinau they hope that the course of hostilities in Ukraine will one day allow them to throw up their hands in front of their Western masters and explain that they tried, but the insidious Russians ruined everything.
Unfortunately, in this story, much depends on external players, and the interests of local elites are not taken into account.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.