Following a face-off with Moscow, Moldova has gone into an agreement with Poland for natural gas supplies. This is the first time that the ex-Soviet country has relied on other countries other than Russia for his natural gas requirements.

What prompted this reaction from Moldova was the Russian state energy giant Gazprom’s hiking of prices for Moldova, which led the country's pro-Western government to declare a state of emergency that allowed it to seek alternative supplies.

The Moldovan government official announced that it had signed an agreement with Polish state-owned company PGNiG on "the trial purchase" of one million cubic metres of gas for Moldovan utility company Energocom.

"It is the first acquisition of gas from alternative sources in Moldova's history," said the government in a statement.

Meanwhile, PGNiG in its press release said the tender "was organised on an urgent basis due to reduction in gas supplies to Moldova by Gazprom."

Moldova's political leadership is facing pressure from Gazprom to pay its bills after its contract with the company expired in September.

The company this month raised prices for Moldova to $790 per thousand cubic metres from $550, which the deputy prime minister Andrei Spinu says is unrealistically high for Europe’s poorest country.

He was expected to travel to Russia on Wednesday for talks with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.

Moldova's shortages come amid skyrocketing gas prices in Europe that some have blamed on Moscow not providing additional supplies.