Minister: Hungary to supply gas to Transnistria at Russia's request

A Hungarian trading company will supply natural gas to Moldova's Transnistria, which is controlled by Russian separatists, following a request from Russia's energy minister. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said this today. Tens of thousands of people in the territory along Moldova's border with Ukraine have been caught in an energy crisis after the transit agreement for Russian natural gas supplies through Ukraine expired on 1 January, when Kyiv refused to extend it.

At a press conference broadcast on his Facebook account, Szijjártó said he had been approached by Russia's deputy prime minister responsible for energy. He also discussed the gas supplies with his Moldovan counterpart. The Hungarian minister did not specify which Hungarian company would supply the gas.

Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in late January that the European Union would provide 30 million euros (752 million Kč) to purchase and transport natural gas to Transnistria. He also said that Hungarian company MOL planned to sign a contract with Moldovagaz to supply gas to Transnistria.

Transnistrian separatist authorities said this month, according to Reuters, that the region had started receiving gas thanks to a loan from Moscow. They added that MET Group's Swiss subsidiary, MET Gas and Energy Marketing AG, had signed a short-term contract in February to supply gas to Moldovagaz.

Transnistria broke free of Moldovan control during a brief war in the early 1990s. It acts as an independent state but legally remains part of Moldova. Because of its isolation, it is heavily dependent on Russia economically and politically. For decades, it benefited from cheap Russian gas, which it used for heating and to generate electricity sold to the rest of Moldova.

Russia blames Moldova and Ukraine for the energy crisis in Transnistria. Moldova, in turn, blames Moscow. It also accuses Russian gas company Gazprom of breaching its long-term contract by refusing to send gas via alternative routes. Gazprom, however, says it suspended exports because of an unpaid Moldovan debt of 709 million dollars (17 billion Kč), which Chișinău does not recognize.