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Ukraine has accused Moscow of “gas war” against Europe, as well as of stopping supplies to incite “terror” against people.
Russian energy company Gazprom has announced it will cut gas supplies to Germany due to work on a turbine on Nord Stream 1.
However, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said that this is only blackmail with gas against Europe.
The Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which carries gas from Russia to Germany, has been working below capacity for several weeks now.
Earlier this month, the pipeline – Russia’s largest in Europe – was shut down for 10 days of work, prompting concerns in Europe that it may never return to work.
Deliveries resumed five days ago – albeit with reduced capacity.
However, on Monday, Gazprom said it will stop supplies once again.
This time the company said it had to stop supplies almost half way in order to carry out the work.
However, the German government has said there is no technical reason to limit supplies.
“The gas blackmail in Europe, which only gets worse every month, is necessary for the terrorist state in order to make life difficult for every European”, Zelensky said in his daily address.
He has said that Russia is deliberately making it harder for Europe to prepare for winter, regardless of the situation that people may face in that season.
The European Union, which supplied 40 percent of Russia’s gas last year, has also accused Russia of using energy as a weapon.
The news of another reduction in the amount of gas increases the pressure on EU countries to reduce their dependence on Russian gas.
This decision also makes it even more difficult for them to secure gas for the winter months.
European energy ministers will meet on Tuesday in Brussels, where they are expected to reach agreement on a joint response to the crisis.
Last week, the European Commission has proposed to member countries to reduce the use of gas by 15 percent in the next seven months.
The target is only introduced for countries that want to be voluntary, although the Commission may make it mandatory in case of an emergency.
Although some states have resisted the plan, pressure in the EU to reach an agreement is high.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said earlier that there is a possibility that Russia will completely stop gas to the European bloc.
The head of the EU for Energy Policy, Kadri Simson, has criticized Gazprom’s announcement.
“We know there is no technical reason to do so. This is a politically motivated step and we should be ready for this. Precisely for this, our preventive demand to reduce the use is a wise strategy”, said Simon, after reaching Brussels on Tuesday.
The Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Sikela, has warned that such a reduction is necessary, because the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, “will continue to play dirty games with regard to gas supplies”.
Gazprom’s decision “is an additional proof that we must take the game into our own hands and reduce our dependence on Russian supplies as soon as possible,” he said.
The Czech Republic holds the EU presidency for the next six months.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine by Russia on February 24, the price of gas has increased and this conflict has had an impact on energy bills around the world.
The Kremlin has said the high prices are the result of Western sanctions, insisting it is a reliable energy partner and is not responsible for recent disruptions in gas supplies.
Meanwhile, Ukraine still hopes that the agreement reached with Russia, brokered by the United Nations, will mean that grain exports resume from Black Sea ports “within days”.
“If the parties guarantee security, the agreement will be implemented. If not, it will not be implemented”, said the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov.
In his daily address, Zelensky said he believes that wheat exports from Ukraine will start again this week.
His comments followed concerns that the deal could fall apart after Russia targeted the key Ukrainian port of Odesan with missiles on Saturday.
About 20 million tons of wheat are stuck in Ukraine, unable to be transported, because the Russian navy controls most of the Black Sea./REL
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