President of the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic presenting his book "Along with Russia" at the Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel in Moscow in May of this year
Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov
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Transdniestria Spends Gazprom's Money Again
The Supreme Council of Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic has made amendments to its budget that freeze payments on its debt to Russia for natural gas. Money that would have gone to Gazprom has been redirected to fill its own needs, specifically a deficit in the republic's pension fund, and leave a debt of $14.5 million unpaid. Thus the unrecognized republic has found a way to counter the economic crisis that arose when Moscow stopped sponsoring it. The plan could backfire, however, if Moscow becomes completely disillusioned with its willful president Igor Smirnov and cuts off all support.
The total debt of Transdniestria for Russian natural gas is $1.3 billion. Gazprom has turned that debt over to OOO Factoring Finance. Tiraspol has made it clear that it does not intend to pay that debt. “Transdniestria has no legal debt,” Smirnov stated in March. “There was never an agreement signed with Gazprom. AO Moldova-gaz signed an agreement. Fifteen percent of the stock used to belong to Transdniestria, but then Transdniestria gas structures left the Moldovan association. So now let Moldova deal with it.”
That angered Moscow so much that rumors began to circulate in the press that the Kremlin was getting ready to replace Smirnov. Transdniestrian parliament speaker Evgeny Shevchuk has a close relationship with United Russia Party leader Boris Gryzlov, and so looks like a likely successor to Smirnov. When Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and Russian President Vladimir Putin patched up relations and Moscow began to press Tiraspol for rapprochement with Chisinau, it was firmly ignored. The Transdniestrian budget has a total shortfall of $83 million to due Russia's discontinuation of financial aid.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 13, 2007
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