Russian gas supplies to Europe will not resume until Western sanctions against Moscow are lifted, the Kremlin has said.
\nAccording to international media, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said the sanctions were the sole reason behind Russia\u2019s decision to shut the Nord Stream 1 (NS1) pipeline. Moscow initially said it was shutting the pipeline, which supplies gas to Europe, for maintenance.
\n\u201cSanctions that prevent the units from being serviced, that prevent them from being moved without appropriate legal guarantees it is these sanctions imposed by Western states that have brought the situation to what we see now,\u201d Peskov added.
\nPeskov\u2019s comments came amid a deepening energy crisis across Europe that was further exacerbated after Gazprom, Russia\u2019s state-run energy giant, announced on Friday that a three-day maintenance work due to an oil leak in one of the NS1\u2019s turbines will extend indefinitely.
\nThe European Union snapped back at Moscow\u2019s move, with the European Commission spokesman saying that the complete halt of gas flows was made under \u201cfallacious pretences\u201d. EU officials have repeatedly accused Russia of intentionally stemming or reducing the flows in retaliation for Western sanctions and support of Ukraine.
\nThe United States also accused Russia of using energy as a weapon, adding though that Europe will have enough gas to face the winter months.
\n\u201cThe US and Europe have been collaborating to ensure sufficient supplies are available. As a result of these efforts, European gas storage will be full by the critical winter heating season. We have more work to do,\u201d a White House official told Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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