The European Union will provide 30 million euros ($31.5 million) to purchase and transport natural gas to Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Monday.

The leader of Moldova's separatist Transdniestria region, gripped by power and heating cuts, said on Friday that gas reserves would be exhausted within days and urged the central government to end "artificial delays" and provide new supplies.

The European Union on Monday offered 30 million euros ($32 million) in emergency aid to help buy gas for Moldova's separatist Transnistria region after Russia cut off supplies.

BRUSSELS. Jan 27 (Interfax) - The European Union will provide a package of emergency assistance in an amount of 30 million euros as the first step to help Moldova overcome the energy crisis, the European Commission said in a release issued on Monday.

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 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.

CHISINAU. Jan 27 (Interfax) - The Transdniestrian region expects to receive 3 million cubic meters of gas from Moldova for urgent needs, Transdniestrian leader Vadim Krasnoselsky said at a meeting of the operational headquarters on Monday.

The Transdniestria region in Moldova faces a severe energy crisis as its gas reserves dwindle. With Ukraine refusing transit and Moldova awaiting overdue payments, the region's residents suffer from power outages and severe winter hardships.

The leader of Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria has travelled to Moscow for talks to resolve an energy crisis following the suspension of Russian gas deliveries, Transdniestria's news agency reported on Tuesday.

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.

The document, seen exclusively by Euractiv Czechia, argues the measures will help the two countries "resist the malign influence of Russia".

The European Union will provide 30 million euros ($31.5 million) to purchase and transport natural gas to Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Monday.