The European Commission has urged countries across the bloc to cut their gas use by 15% from August to March amid fears Russia could halt supplies.
It says the target is voluntary but will become legally binding if Moscow turns off the taps this summer.
The key Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Germany has been offline for maintenance for 10 days and is due to be turned back on this Thursday.
But there are concerns Moscow will not follow through on its promise.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that it was not clear in what condition the Nord Stream 1 turbine would be after its return from Canada following repairs.
He also said that there was a risk the equipment would have to be switched off and Nord Stream 1 would not be restarted.
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President Vladimir Putin brought into question the quality of the repair of the turbine for the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which Canada should return after maintenance.
ReplyDeleteHe expressed this point of view, speaking at the Strong Ideas for a New Time forum sponsored by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and the Roscongress Foundation.
"They say that they will return these compressors, at least one of them. But in what quality will they return it, what will be the technical parameters after this scheduled maintenance? Maybe they will just turn it off at some point, and Nord Stream 1 will stop," Putin noted.
The head of the state stressed that the situation with turbines for Nord Stream shows how important it is to develop engineering in Russia.
Canada did not want to give back gas compressors for the Nord Stream to Russia, because it hopes to supply oil and gas to the European market itself, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteHe was speaking at the Strong Ideas for a New Time forum sponsored by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and the Roscongress Foundation.
"One of the directions of Nord Stream 1 - we pumped 55 billion cubic meters a year there (to Europe - TASS). By using what? By using gas compressors from Siemens. Well, one compressor needs scheduled repairs, Canada is not giving it back, because they imposed sanctions against Gazprom, although it concerns a Siemens plant. I can tell you why Canada did this: because it produces oil and gas itself and plans to enter the European market," he said.
Putin added that this situation may become a certain difficulty for gas consumers in Europe.