A spokesman for Russia’s “energy giant” Gazprom, Sergei Kuprianov, has told Moldova that it will cut off energy supplies if it does not pay for deliveries under a contract agreed last month.
Moldova and Gazprom extended an agreement to supply gas to the former Soviet country late last month. The move came after a heated debate that led Chisinau to declare a gas shortage and sign a contract with a country other than Russia for the first time.
Although not in the EU, Moldova is among the states that have raised concerns about the Kremlin’s provocative actions. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter: “Europe is facing new threats.”
“The migrant crisis, cyber-attacks and manipulation of gas prices are just examples of the hybrid war that Moscow started in Minsk. “We are witnessing an attempt to change the current security order. The concentration of the Russian army on the Ukrainian border and the blackmail of Moldova with natural gas is a red alert for the EU. There is still time to prevent catastrophe,” he said.
Mr Morawiecki has been touring European countries in the hope of finding an appropriate collective response. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already come under fire for allegedly playing with gas supplies to Europe and using the resource as a “geopolitical weapon”. The Moldovan bloc relies on about 40% of its gas imports from Moscow. The downsizing of supplies is said to have come in the hope that its new pipeline, Nord Stream 2, will avoid being subject to strict EU rules.
Reported restrictions on gas flow to the block have sent prices soaring on several occasions and have seen the EU hold several urgent talks on an impending energy crisis. However, the German energy regulator has suspended the Nord Stream pipeline 2 last week. It is now possible that it will not be put into operation before March next year, in a move that is said to have further angered the Kremlin. Gas prices soared above 100 euros (84 £) per megawatt hour last Wednesday.
express.co.uk
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