Kremlin says Gazprom is willing to supply gas to Europe

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Russian energy giant Gazprom expressed its willingness to fulfill its obligations to provide gas to Europe, Tass News Agency quoted the Russian presidential spokesman as saying on Thursday.

However, spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused European counterparties of “imposing legal and technological obstacles that keep Gazprom from working.”

His statement comes at a time when EU countries, which are highly dependent on Russian gas for supplies in winter, are actively seeking alternative supply sources and implementing energy-saving measures to wean off Russian gas dependence.

Coupled with sanctions applied on Russian gas entities, the EU faces many challenges amid skyrocketing gas prices.

"This is a crisis scenario. Of course, I would like to appeal to these Gazprom counterparties' common sense, but so far, we can only conclude that they have a severe lack of it," Peskov said.

Gazprom significantly reduced gas flow via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that carries Russian gas to Europe last month, citing the non-return of a Siemens turbine to Russia following maintenance in Canada.

Peskov said the equipment manufactured by Siemens “is quite high-tech”, adding that not many companies worldwide can service it.

He highlighted the difficulty in fulfilling the contract due to “legal problems”, as the contract was concluded with the UK subsidiary of Siemens, which has been affected by the "impressive package of sanctions" imposed by UK authorities against Russia.

On Thursday, Russia stopped gas deliveries through one of the main gas pipelines to Europe starting Wednesday for three days due to repairs on its only remaining compressor.