Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation this Thursday (05.26.2022) with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, in which he offered to continue supplying gas at the same price as to date.
In the conversation, which according to the Kremlin was held at the request of the Italian side, issues related to energy security were discussed and Russia committed to an “uninterrupted supply of natural gas to Italy at the prices set in the contracts.”
According to RAI News, Moscow took advantage of the telephone dialogue to once again request the lifting of sanctions, alleging that it is the restrictions imposed by the EU and the United States that have “exacerbated” the problems in the field of world food security.
Algeria willing to provide more gas to Italians
The call coincided with an official visit to Rome by Algerian President Abdelmayid Tebune, in which he reaffirmed that his country is ready to increase energy supplies to Italian “friends”.
“On the energy front, we are willing to give what Italy wants from us,” Tebune said at the end of a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, marked by the understanding between their respective countries.
Tebune proposed the construction of a submarine cable that would interconnect both countries and that would also serve European interests, in the midst of a debate over reducing energy dependence on Russia.
Draghi signed an agreement in April for a nearly 50 percent increase in imports of Algerian natural gas. The boost would make Algeria Italy’s top natural gas supplier, replacing Russia, by increasing its shipments by an additional 9-10 billion cubic meters per year by the end of 2022.
Italy received around 21 billion cubic meters of gas from Algeria in 2021, compared to around 29 billion cubic meters from Russia.
Justify once again the invasion
Another of the issues discussed between Putin and Draghi, according to the Kremlin, was the situation in Ukraine. Putin defended that his “special military operation” only seeks to “establish a peaceful life in the liberated cities of Donbas.”
“They have spoken in detail about the steps taken to ensure safe shipping, including the daily opening of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilian vessels from the ports of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov,” the Kremlin explained.
jc (europa press, RAI News)