February 27 (SeeNews) - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said that it plans to work with the U.S. Congress to provide to Moldova 300 million dollars (284 million euro) to tackle energy issues resulting from Russia's war on Ukraine and the attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid.
"This funding will strengthen Moldova’s energy security in the face of the Kremlin’s longstanding attempts to weaponize energy to undermine Moldova’s independence and sovereignty," the USAID said in a press release on Friday.
The funding will help Moldova improve its long-term energy resilience and interconnections with Europe, the USAID added.
As much as 80 million dollars of the total will go towards offsetting the costs of electricity for Moldovan citizens this winter, while 135 million dollars will support the development of high-priority electricity generation projects in Moldova. Also, 85 million dollars will help Moldova procure energy supplies from alternative sources, the USAID detailed.
Moldovan president Maia Sandu said in a social media post that the support will take the form of non-reinbursable aid.
"I thank ambassador Logsdon for the good news he brings on a difficult day: the U.S. will provide us with 300 million dollars of additional non-reimbursable emergency aid to support citizens and to support projects to strengthen the energy independence of the Republic of Moldova," Sandu said.
The USAID has partnered with Moldova since 1992.
So far, the U.S. has provided approximately 267 million dollars in emergency support to help Moldova address the economic, energy, security, and humanitarian impacts of Russia's war against Ukraine, including 40.5 million dollars in energy-related funding and 30 million dollars in budget support provided in January.
($=0.9467 euro)