Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has attributed the high price of gas on European nations and labeled the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines as an act of international terrorism.
Putin made the remark on Wednesday at a Russian energy event as the European Union members disagreed on a gas price ceiling because the price of the product had increased by 90% in the previous year.
EU nations were unable to come to an agreement on a price to spare citizens the pain of high gas prices as winter approaches. As a result of its decision to lessen its reliance on Russian gas as a result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU is already experiencing supply issues.
Despite the fact that Russia has also reduced its supply to the region, the leak in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines has made Europe’s gas crisis worse.
Gas rationalization plans for European nations are already in the works, and power outages throughout the winter are also expected. Given that around 45% of the gas supplied to the continent comes from Russia, Europe wants to sever its ties to Russian gas completely by the end of 2022.
Putin claimed that Europe is to blame for the increase in gas prices since the EU was unable to reach a consensus. He cited the EU’s push toward green energy, which caused a global decline in investment in the oil and gas business.
Putin offered to change the gas transit routes from Germany, where its Nord Stream pipelines run through, to Turkey in order to assist alleviate the supply issue. Additionally, he claimed that because of the “act of international terrorism” on the Nord Stream pipelines, the EU is depriving its inhabitants of inexpensive energy.
“We could move the lost volumes along the Nord Streams along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea region and thus make the main routes for the supply of our fuel, our natural gas to Europe through Turkey.”
