Putin: "If Europe Wants, Gas Supply Will Resume Immediately... Gas Pipeline Repairs Also Possible Immediately"

Gas Pressure Intensifies Ahead of Winter... "Depends on Europe"
"Global Energy Infrastructure Faces Major Risks" Warning

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russian President Vladimir Putin pressured the West by stating that Russia can resume gas supplies if Europe desires. He strongly criticized the Russian oil price cap imposed by the European Union (EU) as part of the 8th round of sanctions against Russia and claimed that the recent Nord Stream gas pipeline leak incident was the responsibility of the United States and Ukraine.

According to TASS news agency on the 12th (local time), President Putin attended the Russian Energy Week Forum held in Moscow and said, "We can resume gas supplies to Europe at any time through the undamaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline," adding, "One of the two pipes of Nord Stream 2 maintains the pressure for gas supply, and the supply capacity of that pipe is about 27 billion cubic meters per year."

He continued, "If inspections confirm that safe operation is possible, we can supply gas to Europe, and the damaged Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 can also be repaired," adding, "The ball is in the European Union (EU)'s court, and if the EU wants, they just need to open the valve." He also urged negotiations to resume gas supplies, saying, "European consumers are gathering firewood like in the Middle Ages ahead of winter."

Furthermore, he claimed that the responsibility for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline leak lies with the West, including the United States and Ukraine. President Putin warned, "Those who benefit from the pipeline attacks are Washington, Kyiv, Warsaw, and other Western countries," adding, "Whether underwater or on land, critical parts of energy infrastructure anywhere in the world are at great risk."

Regarding the recent oil production cut decision by the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries' coalition, OPEC+, he expressed strong support. President Putin said, "I welcome OPEC+'s decision to cut production to maintain oil prices," and reiterated a warning, "We will not supply energy to countries that introduce unreasonable systems such as oil price caps."

President Putin also proposed redirecting gas supplied through Nord Stream toward the Black Sea to create a gas supply hub in T?rkiye (Turkey). He claimed, "We could create a European gas supply route through Turkey by bypassing the damaged European pipelines." This is interpreted as a plan to reroute pipelines passing through hostile countries such as Poland and Ukraine to the pro-Russian country T?rkiye.

Meanwhile, the EU announced on the same day that it plans to jointly purchase gas among member states starting next year to counter Russia's gas supply. Josef S?kela, Minister of Industry of the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency, stated that there was a general agreement to start joint gas purchases before next summer. He said, "We want to expedite joint gas purchases for the entire EU," adding, "Through this, we plan to secure supply stability for the next winter, which will be even more precarious than this winter."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.