Putin says Russia is ready to supply gas to Europe via Nord Stream 2 pipeline

Europe, News October 13, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Russia is ready to supply gas to Europe via the only remaining Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Russian Energy Week Forum 2022 on October 12.

According to the Russian President, “Its [surviving string of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline] capacity is 27.5 bln cubic meters per year, about 8% of total gas imports to Europe. Russia is ready for a start of such supplies.”

“The ball is on the European Union’s side, as the saying is. We do not limit anyone, including readiness to supply extra volumes during the winter season,” Putin added. However, Germany said it would not take Russian gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline which has become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis.

Russian President Putin said that his country was not allowed to participate in the investigation of gas pipeline incidents. “I regret saying we are not allowed to survey [the remaining] string but pressure is maintained [in it]. Pressure is kept, meaning that it is in the operable condition, to all appearance,” Putin emphasized.

On September 26, the leaks at Nord Stream 1 and 2 occurred in the Danish and Swedish economic zone north of Poland. On September 27, Denmark’s military issued images and video of gas bubbling at the surface of the Baltic after the “unprecedented” damage to the pipelines. Danish authorities raised the country’s level of preparedness for the power and gas sector which are crucial to delivering Russian natural gas to Germany.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline between Russia and Germany is 51% owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom while Nord Stream 2 is owned by a Swiss subsidiary of the same company.

*^{The Portovaya compressor station in Russia pumps gas into Nord Stream. (Image Credit: Gazprom)}*

Leaders of Poland and Sweden termed the leaks as an act of sabotage that “probably marks the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine”. Sweden’s national seismic network said that it recorded two explosions near mysterious leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which prompted concerns of sabotage.

EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell said that “These incidents are not a coincidence and affect us all. All available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act.” Borrell vowed that the EU supports any investigation to get complete clarity on the incident and to take further steps to increase Europe’s energy security. “Any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response.”

The European Commission President, Ursula Von der Leyen, warned of the “strongest possible response” to any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure in the wake of the Nord Stream damage.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Russian Energy Week Forum on October 12, that the U.S. as well as other alternative energy suppliers are likely to benefit the most from the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines.

*^{Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking during Russian Energy Week 2022. (Image Credit: Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS)}*

Putin said that “It is clear who benefits [from the sabotage]: the remaining gas systems will now play a more important geopolitical role. These are Polish routes, the Yamal-Europe [link], and there are two pipelines in Ukraine – Russia once paid to build all those. And of course the US will now be able to sell energy at higher prices.”

The Russian president further said that the United States will now have an opportunity to push more LNG on Europeans, which would be more costly than the Russian pipeline gas.

Putin noted that “We saw this recently, when U.S. tankers carrying LNG to Europe turned around midway and changed destinations because LNG suppliers had been offered a better price elsewhere. And the interests of European customers were ignored.”