MOSCOW (Reuters) - 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, said on Wednesday that he expected Transdniestria to receive Russian gas again soon to meet its needs.

Tens of thousands of people there have been without gas or winter heating since Jan. 1, when Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM suspended gas exports to the region, citing an unpaid Moldovan debt of $709 million that Chisinau does not recognise as valid.

Moscow blames the suspension of gas supplies on pro-Western Moldova and Kyiv, which refused to extend a five-year gas transit deal that expired on Dec. 31 on the grounds that the proceeds help fund Russia's war in Ukraine.

Moldova's authorities have said that despite a valid contract and the option of an alternative transit route, Gazprom is refusing to supply gas in order to destabilise its government ahead of this year's parliamentary elections.

Asked on Thursday about Moscow's plans, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would be prepared to provide gas, but needed Moldova to cooperate as well from a technical point of view.

"Yes, Moscow will be ready and is ready to provide assistance to Transdniestria, but at the same time, purely logistically, of course, actions must be taken on the part of Moldova that ensure gas supply and contracting," Peskov told reporters.

"So far we have not heard any statements (from Moldova) about their readiness to do this," he said.

Transdniestria, a tiny pro-Russian and mainly Russian-speaking separatist region along the Dniester River and the border with Ukraine, received about 2 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year via Ukraine, using the fuel to heat homes and generate electricity, which it sold to the rest of Moldova.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Andrew Osborn)