Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed European Union (EU) countries on Friday, suggesting lifting restrictions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to ease complaints about rising gas prices over the winter.
“Anyway, if you are impatient, if everything is too difficult, decide and remove the restrictions on Nord Stream 2, which is 55 billion cubic meters a year. Push the button and everything will be solved,” the Kremlin leader told a press conference at the end of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
It was Germany, not Russia, that blocked Nord Stream 2, and Putin recalled that before the start of the military campaign in Ukraine on February 24.
Russia’s president also promised that Moscow would not cut off gas to Europe through Nord Stream 1, but was forced to make that decision because it did not receive replacement parts for the turbines and they stopped working due to sanctions.
The EU has insisted that Russian turbines are not subject to the sanctions, but Putin responded that because Siemens’ British subsidiary carries out repair and maintenance of the turbines, they are subject to British law.
“Are we to blame? Guess who’s to blame. They should not blame us for their own mistakes,” he stressed.
Putin further stressed that Russian gas company Gazprom and the Russian government have fulfilled and continue to fulfill all contractual obligations.
“There have never been failures on this side and there never will be,” he argued.
In Putin’s view, Europe wants to blame Moscow for the energy crisis “to protect itself from the wrath of its own citizens.”
“This is another attempt to shift the problem or headache from the sick to the healthy. The energy crisis in Europe did not start with the start of special military operations. [na Ucrânia]But much earlier”, he explained.
At the same time, Putin confirmed “next” supplies of natural gas to Turkey in Samarkand, which he described as a “reliable partner,” and announced that “a quarter” of these supplies would be paid in rubles.
The statement, issued following a bilateral meeting he held with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, confirms an agreement signed during personal contacts between the two leaders in Sochi, southern Russia, in early August.
Putin also indicated that he had received a “signal” of approval for the export of Russian products from Turkish ports, despite Russia being subject to severe Western sanctions.
“Our companies have received a signal that they can export their products from Turkey,” he announced, expressing his desire to “significantly increase” trade with Ankara.
Turkey played a decisive role in the conclusion in July under the United Nations of an agreement with Kiev and Moscow allowing the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea and the Bosphorus.
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