New level of escalation in the Ukraine war: On Russian state television, the Kremlin threatens to stop gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 to Europe.
So far, a lot of gas has been unabated from Russia pumped to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. But now, for the first time since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Russia is openly threatening to impose a gas supply freeze. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nowak said on Russian state television on Monday: “We have the full right to make a ‘mirror-fair’ decision and to issue an embargo on the transmission of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which today has a maximum capacity of 100 percent is.”
This is a direct response to US plans to halt oil imports from Russia. In the European Union, there are currently such considerations, but they are by no means concrete, because Europe is extremely dependent on Russian gas, as well as on oil. According to official figures, the EU gets around 33 percent of its oil from Russia, as well as 45 percent for natural gas and 50 percent for coal. At a meeting of heads of state and government on Thursday and Friday in Versailles, discussions will be held on how the EU can become more independent of Russian energy.
Nowak commented on the gas stop with a view to the stopped Nord Stream 2 line, which Russia is aiming to put into operation. “But we haven’t made that decision yet. Nobody wins,” said Nowak. However, Russia now sees itself pushed in this direction by European politicians and their accusations, it said. The German government stopped the controversial pipeline after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Nowak said that Russia follows the statements of Western politicians who want to break away from Russian gas and oil. The EU politicians are now overheating energy prices through their actions. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating that Russia is trying, according to information from the US Department of Defense, to recruit Syrians for the war of aggression in Ukraine. “We can confirm reports that the Russians are trying to supplement their fighters with foreign fighters,” a senior ministry official said in a briefing by phone with journalists on Monday.