Moldovan citizens will vote this year in parliamentary elections. There is a risk that their vote will derail Chisinau's European course. Only time will tell how Europe will react, Vitalie Cojocari writes.

Russian newspaper Kommersant has reported that Moscow and Transnistria, a Russian-backed breakaway region of Moldova, are discussing the possibility of buying gas for the region in Europe through an intermediary company.

The Russian authorities and the leadership of Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria are reportedly exploring a plan to supply gas to the region through purchases on the European spot market, facilitated by an intermediary company,

The head of Moldova’s breakaway region Transnistria has urged residents to burn firewood for heating and warned that blackouts cannot be avoided, after Moscow stopped supplying gas via Ukraine.

The Moscow-controlled breakaway region of Moldova will receive gas as a "humanitarian gesture" from the Kremlin, while the rest of the country will remain cut off after Russia halted supplies on 1 January,

Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region expects to receive Russian gas again soon to meet its needs, its leader Vadim Krasnoselsky said on Wednesday, two weeks into crippling power cuts in the Russian-backed enclave.

Russia will resume gas supplies to Transnistria in the form of humanitarian aid, the head of the Moscow-controlled breakaway region said on Jan. 15, but those to the rest of Moldova will remain cut off.