Russia's Gazprom said it would stop gas supplies to Moldova from January 1 over a debt dispute during the energy security emergency in the small country.
The move comes at a time when several eastern European countries are bracing for a halt in Russian gas supplies as Kiev will block the flow of Russian gas through its territory for several days.
Earlier this month, Moldova imposed a 60-day state of emergency ahead of the expected disruption.
"Gazprom will introduce a restriction of natural gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova to zero cubic meters per day from 05:00 GMT on January 1, 2025," the company said in a statement, accusing Chisinau of failing to settle its debts.
It said it had made the move "in connection with the Moldovan side's refusal to regulate the debts".
Gazprom accused Chisinau of not fulfilling its part of the contracts, and said it "reserves the right" for further action, including terminating the gas supply contract with Moldova.
Russia supplies Moldova with gas through pipelines to the separatist Transnistria region.
The country gets most of its electricity from a Transdniestrian-based power plant that uses Russian gas. | BGNES
