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Photo: Maia Sandu (facebook.com maia sandu)
As of early November 2020, Moldova’s gas debt to the Russian Federation amounted to more than $ 7 billion. The Kremlin can use this debt to pressure the future president of Moldova, Maia Sandu.
The Polish edition of Gazeta Wyborcza writes about it.
Most of the debt falls on the territory of Transnistria. The region owes Russian Gazprom about $ 6.7 billion. After winning the elections, Sandu stressed that the debts with Moscow are unfair.
As the newspaper writes, Russia can use this debt to pressure Chisinau on the issue of the withdrawal of the Russian army from Transnistria. The Kremlin can respond to the demand to withdraw troops from the region by shutting off the gas valve.
The situation is also complicated by the fact that current President Igor Dodon last year extended the gas contract with the Russian Federation until the end of 2020, so without a new agreement, Moldova may run out of gas in the dead of winter. . In addition, the construction of gas pipelines with the EU has been delayed in recent years, so they will not be ready for launch in a month.
Recall that Sandu demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from Transnistria. However, according to her, the solution to this problem must be exclusively peaceful and diplomatic.
In Russia, Sandu’s statement was met with a wave of criticism. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Sandu’s statement “irresponsible.”
