Moldova's prime minister told AFP on Wednesday the international community is ready to offer gas to end the energy crisis in Transnistria but a lasting solution hinges on Russia withdrawing its troops from the separatist region.

In the capital of Transnistria, a Kremlin-backed microstate sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine, the festive New Year’s lights have gone dark ahead of schedule. This separatist sliver of Moldova will run out of energy in three weeks,

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to provide gas to Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, but needed logistical support from Moldova to make that happen. Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the separatist enclave,

Since Russia stopped delivering gas to Moldova, Valera Alexandru Sava only heats the ground floor of his two-storey house and often wears a coat and hat inside.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without heating and hot water after Russia halted gas supplies to the region on Jan. 1, over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies.

Moldova and its separatist Transdniestria region inched towards a deal on Monday to allow gas to flow to residents of the rebel enclave, who have been suffering from power and heating cuts since the start of the year.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to provide gas to Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, but needed logistical support from Moldova to make that happen. Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the separatist enclave supported by Moscow,

This separatist sliver of Moldova will run out of energy in three weeks, the head of its Russia-backed government has said. Once proud, go-it-alone and richer than their neighbors in Moldova ...

Moldovan trucks stopped at the border with the Russian Federation received permission to leave the country. This was announced today, January 21, by the National Agency of Motor Transport (NAAT) of the Republic of Moldova.

It is also worth noting that the alignment of Moldova's and Transdniester's fiscal and customs policies has meant that 70 percent of the breakaway region's foreign trade is with countries of the EU -- and that could only increase if Moldova moves closer to the bloc.

An energy crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of people without heating and hot water in the breakaway region of Transnistria could soon end, officials in Moldova said Monday The Moldovan officials reported that the Moscow-friendly leaders of Transnistria had indicated they would accept shipments of gas from the European market to replace lost Russian supplies.

The crisis prompted a question: will the breakaway region, occupied by Russia since 1992, survive without Russian gas? Free-of-charge Russian gas had been the backbone of Transnistria's economy and ensured the preservation of the breakaway region and its de facto independence from Moldova.