“Russia is no longer a reliable energy supplier” as it has “broken its contracts”. The accusation was launched by the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, after the announcement by Moscow of the indefinite stop of the flow on the Nord Stream gas pipeline due to an alleged failure in a compressor station.
Scholz then argued that the death and destruction in Ukraine are the most serious consequences of Vladimir Putin’s war, but also expressed his closeness to the German population concerned about rising prices. “The cause of this very, very difficult situation is the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
Scholz, however, said he was convinced that “we will make it through the winter”. Today the German Ministry of Economy tweeted that the level of gas storage in the country is 85% compared to its maximum capacities.
The answer came from Moscow: it is the European Union that must repair the Nord Stream 1 pipeline so that they can resume shipments of natural gas to Germany, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the news agency. Interfax. “If the Europeans take this totally absurd decision and refuse to maintain their systems, or rather the systems belonging to Gazprom, it is not the fault of Gazprom, but of the politicians who decide the sanctions,” he said.
According to Peskov, it is the Europeans who have a contractual obligation to carry out the maintenance of the plants of the Russian state company Gazprom, which on Friday announced the immediate and indefinite suspension of gas shipments due to a breakdown of a compressor station.
Finally, the spokesman assured that Gazprom remains a reliable supplier. “These so-called politicians are causing the deaths of their citizens when they see their electricity bills. When it gets colder, the situation will be even worse,” he added.