Politico: Moldova Found a Lever to Bring Transnistria Back under Its Control

Politico writes that “Moldova may achieve the removal of the regime established in Transnistria, thus ending the frozen conflict that Russia has maintained in the region since 1992.” “Moldova fell into the trap of cheap energy supplied by Tiraspol, with no alternative or ability to pay market prices. Instead, the republic’s budget fueled the puppet regime in Tiraspol, allowing Russia to maintain control over a strategic strip of land along the Ukrainian border where its troops are stationed, despite Moldova's objections. The Russian-owned Cuciurgan power plant in Transnistria is Moldova’s largest energy source. Moldova also relies on high-voltage cables running through Transnistria, giving the region — and its Russian partners — even more leverage,” the Politico piece said. Politico analysts believe the situation has changed in recent years, under pro-EU President Maia Sandu. Brussels has offered millions of euros and more links to its energy supplies as part of a yearslong process to get the country, one of Europe’s poorest nations, ready for EU membership. Romania has also supplied electricity and methane to the neighboring country. “Moldova is no longer dependent on Transnistria,” Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi told a German outlet based in Brussels. “When it comes to gas, we buy gas on the international market. On the electricity side, we are building high-voltage lines to connect ourselves to Romania.” According to the author of the article, stopping payments to Transnistria would collapse the separatist state’s budget and leave hundreds of thousands of people there without incomes and basic services — a challenge that, for a country Moldova’s size, would be akin to the reunification of Germany following the fall of the Berlin Wall. “The elites in Transnistria acknowledge already that we buy electricity from the region not because we have to but because the alternative is to throw the region into a humanitarian crisis,” Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said in an interview. Yet Moldova is keenly aware that destroying Transnistria’s economic engine also means harming local citizens — the same people it wants to reintegrate into Moldovan society. Solving the energy issue with Transnistria is a major step forward Since Sandu won power in 2020, Moldova has made strides in tackling corruption, reforming public institutions and strengthening its democracy. For its efforts, the country was granted EU candidate status last year, and talks over joining the bloc are ongoing. However, there are lingering questions over whether Moldova could join the EU while it has a separatist conflict and Russian troops stationed on its soil. European politicians have previously hinted that the Transnistria issue may have to be settled before its application clears the final hurdle. Moldovan leaders are pushing back, repeatedly urging Brussels not to let Moscow and its proxies determine Moldova’s EU fate. “Solving the energy issue with Transnistria would be a major step forward,” said Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, a German MEP and member of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee.