Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has instructed the Russian Emergencies Ministry and the Russian Foreign Ministry to deliver humanitarian aid to the regions stricken by floods in Ukraine and Moldova, the government's press service has said.

"Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructed the Emergencies Ministry and Foreign Ministry to work on delivering urgent humanitarian aid to the regions affected by floods in Ukraine and Moldova," a press service representative said.

Russian electricity trader Inter RAO IRAO. RTS has increased its stake in a 2.5-gigawatt Moldovan power plant to 100 percent by buying another 49 percent of the plant for $163 million, it said on Wednesday.

Inter RAO bought the stake from Hungary's EMFESZ, and will pay for it with borrowed capital, the state-controlled company said in the statement.

In the medium term, Inter RAO plans to seek strategic investors for the power plant, called the Moldavian GRES in the town of Dnestrovsk, among Europe's largest energy companies, the statement said.

Aside from having a near monopoly on electricity imports and exports in Russia, Inter RAO owns power stations with a combined generating capacity of almost 8 gigawatts, both in Russia and other former Soviet countries.

It is expected to become one of the main blue chips representing the power sector after the liquidation this month of its power company, the former electricity monopoly Unified Energy System, as part of a sweeping reform of the power sector. (Reporting by Simon Shuster; Editing by David Cowell)

Any dispute between the Republic of Moldova and Transniester could end by 2009 with Russia's support, Moldavian President Vladimir Voronin declared on Wednesday. He added, quoted by AFP, that currently, all conditions to cease the conflict have been created.

Voronin explained that all bilateral problems with Russia were resolved. President Voronin met his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev to discuss the Transniester problem. Voronin declared that Medvedev is committed to end the conflict. He added that Russia's role in ending this conflict is vital.

Gazprom has filed four lawsuits at the International Commercial Arbitration Court against Moldovagaz regarding the recovery of debts for gas delivered worth a total of 101m dollars, Interfax-ANI ha...

The Russian gas giant Gazprom has announced that it will export gas to Moldova for 253 dollars in the third quarter of 2008, the Moldovan news agency Infotag reported on 16 July.

The price is over 20 per cent higher against the current price of 213 dollars per 1,000 cu. m. of gas.

Infotag quoted Moldovan Economics and Trade Minister Igor Dodon as saying that "the price might amount to 258 dollars if Moldova imports gas of higher quality".

Dodon also said that the increase in gas price will prompt higher rates for domestic consumers and added that the cabinet will propose gas compensations for 13 categories of people, Infotag said.

According to the Moldovan-Russian agreement on gas supply, the price for gas is revised every quarter. The last increase was operated on 1 April 2008, when the price surged from 191 dollars to 213 dollars per 1,000 cu. m.

Russian energy giant Gazprom will supply natural gas to Moldova at $253 per 1,000 cu m from August, Moldova's first deputy prime minister said Wednesday.

"In the opinion of European analysts, in connection with increasing prices for energy carriers from the new year, the natural gas price could reach the level of not less than 400 euros ($632), but the contract concluded by Moldova and Gazprom will make it possible not to raise the tariff in Moldova above the contract-stipulated level," said Igor Dodon, who is also the economics and trade minister.

He added that the new price would not change until summer 2009.

In 2006, Moldova and Gazprom agreed that the price Moldovan consumers paid for Russian gas would gradually rise to an average European level.

Until 2006, Gazprom supplied gas to Moldova at $80 per 1,000 cu m. The price was raised first to $110, then in early 2007 to $187.81, before reaching $213 in the second quarter of 2008.