Russia's decision to stop supplying gas to Moldova is meant to weaken its pro-European government. But should this plan backfire by failing to secure a victory for pro-Russian forces in Moldova's parliamentary elections, it risks undermining Russian influence in the country in the long run. On Jan. 1, Ukraine's gas transit agreement with Russia expired without replacement after negotiations on an alternative arrangement involving Azerbaijan's state-owned oil company SOCAR failed to make progress. That same day, Russian gas supplies to Moldova ended as Russia's Gazprom declined to supply the country with gas using an alternative southern route via the TurkStream pipeline, citing the outstanding debts Moldova owed to the Russian company. Both Moldova's government and the pro-Russian authorities in the country's breakaway Transdniestria region had long prepared for the possible end of Russian gas deliveries, with both having declared states of emergency in their energy sectors in December. As of...
