Speaking to reporters, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had warned German Chancellor Olaf Schulz about this. According to his information, his negotiator reported that Gazprom had created reserves for the completed and operational pipeline, which “cannot be suspended in the air indefinitely.” According to the president, the counselor’s response was that there were other, more important issues on the agenda.
I had to warn him that in this case half of the amount allocated to Nord Stream 2 would be diverted for local consumption and processing. I spoke about this topic at the request of Gazprom, and Gazprom has already done it
Putin insisted. Then he added that if Nord Stream 2 was launched tomorrow, it (the amount of gas to be delivered) would not be 55 million cubic meters per year, but exactly half of it.
The Russian leader emphasized that Gazprom will fulfill its obligations for future deliveries, as in the past, “of course, if someone needs it.” He complained that Western countries, according to him, “close everything with their own hands” and then “are looking for someone to blame.”
This would be funny if it wasn’t so sad
He said.
Speaking about Ukraine, he said that Moscow does not see Kyiv’s willingness to implement peace settlement agreements. As he said, at the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul in March, “the two sides reached a real agreement, all that remains are the initials.” He repeated the version previously expressed by Moscow, according to which Russian troops were withdrawn from Kyiv in order to implement this, but the Ukrainian leadership did not adhere to the agreement.
(Cover Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tehran on July 19, 2022. Photo: Sergei Savostyanov/Sputnik/AFP)
