Moldova’s parliament enacted a 60-day national state of emergency Friday, responding to an imminent Russian gas supply disruption that threatens to plunge the Eastern European nation into an energy crisis from January 1.
The emergency measure, approved by 56 legislators in the 101-seat parliament, comes as Ukraine announces it will not renew its gas transit contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom, potentially severing Moldova’s primary gas supply route. Prime Minister Dorin Recean characterized the vote as a decisive step to end Moscow’s “gas blackmail.”
The crisis particularly threatens Moldova’s breakaway Transdniestria region, which relies entirely on Russian gas supplies for its power generation. The region’s main power plant not only sustains the separatist territory’s economy but also provides the majority of electricity to government-controlled Moldova.
Moldova currently receives approximately 2 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually through Ukrainian territory. Since 2022, all Russian gas flowing to Moldova has been directed to Transdniestria under an agreement between the separatist region and the central government.
The government is exploring alternative supply routes, including the possibility of receiving Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline through Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. However, Gazprom has complicated negotiations by linking future deliveries to Moldova’s settlement of a disputed $709 million debt for past supplies.
Transdniestria, an unrecognized breakaway state, declared its own economic emergency on Tuesday in response to the looming crisis. Prime Minister Recean accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of attempting to “destabilize the situation in Moldova” by threatening to leave Transdniestria’s population “without gas and electricity.”
