Sanctions against Russia affecting gas supplies to Europe

As fears over Russian gas supplies continued to drive up energy costs, the Kremlin stated that Russia won't fully restore its gas exports to Europe unless the west relaxes its sanctions against Moscow.

The Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, blamed sanctions "imposed against our nation by western countries including Germany and the UK" in a Monday interview with the media for Russia's inability to send gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

According to Peskov, "other causes that would interfere with the pumping don't exist." Peskov was quoted by the Interfax news agency.

Peskov stated that whether or not the west will lift its sanctions against Moscow would "undoubtedly" affect whether Russia would fully resume gas supplies via Nord Stream 1. "The western governments' sanctions have led to the current state of affairs," the speaker said.

The EU imposed sanctions against Moscow due to its invasion of Ukraine, but Peskov's comments on Monday are the clearest evidence yet that Russia plans to push the EU to relax those sanctions in exchange for restarting its gas supply.

Using "malfunctions" on a turbine along the pipeline as justification, the largest Russian energy provider Gazprom declared on Friday night that a halt of gas supplies moving west through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would be prolonged indefinitely.

Similar to Gazprom, which claimed that sanctions against the Russian state energy giant prevented Siemens from performing maintenance on the turbines used in Nord Stream 1, Gazprom also blamed western sanctions for impeding gas delivery.

By accusing Putin of turning Gazprom's gas exports into weapons, the EU rejected Gazprom's allegations.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year, is the largest gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. It is believed that maintaining supplies through the pipeline is essential to stop the energy situation from getting worse.

The European Union's support for Ukraine is being put to the test by the current energy crisis, which was brought on by reduced Russian gas supplies.

Analysts think the Kremlin is expecting that record oil costs combined with potential food shortages this winter will force Europe to coerce Ukraine into a ceasefire on Moscow's terms after failing to accomplish most of its military goals in Ukraine.

Peskov said on Monday that it was evident that life was getting "worse for individuals, businessmen, and companies in Europe." Russian officials have been eager to draw attention to the growing resentment in the EU over rising prices.

Naturally, the common people in these nations will have more inquiries about their leaders, he remarked.

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