Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean speaks at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States, Friday, September 27, 2024.
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Moldova’s parliament voted on Friday to impose a 60-day state of emergency, citing concerns about direct threats to the safety of the country’s citizens ahead of an expected stoppage of Russian gas supplies.
Russian natural gas currently reaches Moldova, a landlocked country in the northeastern corner of Europe’s Balkan peninsula, via neighboring Ukraine.
However, the gas transportation agreement between Gazprom and Ukraine’s state oil and gas company is set to expire on December 31, and Kyiv has repeatedly stated that it has no intention to extend the contract.
The Moldovan Parliament has 101 seats and a total of 56 members voted Backing a nationwide state of emergency, the government said it would enable the country to take a range of measures to prevent and mitigate the threat of insufficient energy resources.
A press release from the Moldovan parliament said Russia’s suspension of natural gas supplies to Moldova’s Transnistria region could trigger a “humanitarian crisis” and pose a “risk to the functioning and stability” of the country’s energy sector.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dolin Rezin said this winter must be the last in the country’s history in which energy supplies are held hostage.
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, has previously explain It stands ready to continue supplying gas to Europe through Ukraine.
On Friday morning, Russia launched a massive air strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ukrainian President Zedimir Zelensky explain Moscow used 93 missiles and nearly 200 drones in the attack.
Flow regulating valve at a Moldovan natural gas measuring station.
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Analyst at Dutch bank ING explain Russia’s suspension of natural gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine means that the EU will lose about 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas supply every year, equivalent to about 5% of total imports.
Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING, said: “While there have been some efforts to keep gas flowing through a possible swap with Azerbaijan, it looks like those flows will stop, which we think will stop. should be reflected in the market.
“This creates downside risks for the market. If for some reason these funds continue to flow, the European market will be better supplied than many people expect,” he added.
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