Russia has delivered an energy ultimatum to Europe, saying that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will not resume until the “collective West” lifts sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The EU then accused the Kremlin of weaponizing energy to achieve its aims.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov blamed British, Canadian and EU sanctions for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the key pipeline that delivers gas from St. Petersburg to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
“The problems pumping gas came about because of the sanctions Western countries introduced against our country and several companies,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. “There are no other reasons that could have caused this pumping problem.”
He added that the Nord Stream I resumption depended on whether the West would lift its sanctions targeting Moscow.
Russia’s state-run oil company Gazprom, which operates Nord Stream, on Friday evening announced it would suspend gas supplies heading westwards indefinitely due to pipeline “malfunctions.”
Gazprom had initially said it would halt supplies due to “maintenance work,” but only until Saturday.
The company said it was due to a technical fault, which it blamed on challenges repairing German-made turbines in Canada.
Germany and the EU have disputed the technical justification.
