Russia says to halt all gas supplies to European countries until Western sanctions removed
Russia’s says gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will not resume in full until the Western countries reach a collective decision and lifts sanctions they have imposed on Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine.
Russia says to halt all gas supplies to European countries until Western sanctions removed- The Monday announcement was made by the Kremlin Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who blamed EU, UK, and Canadian sanctions for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the key pipeline, which delivers gas to Germany from St. Petersburg via the Baltic sea, the Financial Times reported.
“The problems pumping gas came about because of the sanctions Western countries introduced against our country and several companies,” Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency, adding, “There are no other reasons that could have caused this pumping problem.”
“Sanctions that prevent the units from being serviced, that prevent them from being moved without appropriate legal guarantees… it is these sanctions imposed by Western states that have brought the situation to what we see now,” Peskov added.
The Kremlin noted that Moscow “rejects attempts” by the West to “place responsibility and blame” on Russia.
“It is the collective West — in this case the European Union, Canada and Britain — that are to blame for the situation reaching this point,” Peskov said.
Since Moscow commenced its “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, the United States, Canada and their European allies have imposed waves of unprecedented sanctions on Russia, despite the Kremlin’s repeated warnings that such measures would only prolong the war.
For its part, Moscow began to significantly reduce its gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, prompting the European Union to strive to boost gas imports from elsewhere amid a worsening energy crisis in the continent.
Peskov’s remarks came after Gazprom, Russia’s state-run gas monopoly, said on Friday that it would halt gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 because of a technical fault, which it blamed on difficulties repairing German-made turbines in Canada.