President Vladimir Putin has said the gas taps can be still turned on for Russian supplies to the EU, despite ongoing political disagreements, an offer quickly rejected by Germany.
A government spokesman in Berlin said Nord Stream 1 – which is not under sanctions – was an option, but gas was not flowing “because Russia did not deliver”.
Russia has been accused of using gas supplies as a weapon against the West since the invasion of Ukraine – a charge repeatedly denied by the Kremlin.
“The ball, as they say, is now in the European Union’s court – let them just open the tap,” Mr Putin said on Wednesday at the annual Russian Energy Week in Moscow.
“We do not limit anyone in anything,” he said, adding that Moscow was ready to supply additional volumes of gas in the autumn-winter period.
But despite Mr Putin’s words, a resumption of gas supplies to Europe seems unlikely.
At the Moscow forum, Mr Putin said the recent leaks were an “act of international terrorism”. But he said Russia was ready to resume supplies via the one intact part of Nord Stream 2, also proposing creating an alternative European gas hub via Turkey. Ankara is yet to publicly comment on the issue.
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