Gas: Putin proposes to open North Stream 2 to grant energy to the EU
The launch of the Nord Stream 2 it is one of the ways to increase Russian gas supplies to Europe, although half of its capacity has already been allocated to domestic consumption. This is what, according to the Tass agency, Russian President Vladimir said Putin during his visit to Iran to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and take stock of some of the most pressing issues in the region, including the conflict in Syria and the proposal, supported by the United Nations, to resume Ukrainian grain exports to alleviate the global food crisis.
For Russian gas “we have another route ready: it is Nord Stream 2. It can be inaugurated,” Putin said of ways to resolve the energy crisis in Europe.
That said, he noted that this path is currently “problematic”. “About a month and a half – two months ago, in a conversation with the chancellor [tedesco] [Olaf Scholz] we have discussed this topic, I have raised this issue, I have stated that Gazprom he had assigned capabilities, he had created these capabilities and he has to do something about it, they cannot be in the air forever, ”Putin said.
According to him, the German Chancellor replied that there were more important issues. “Therefore, I had to warn that in that case we would use half the volume designated for Nord Stream for consumption and home use. And Gazprom (…) has already done so, so even if we launch Nord Stream 2 tomorrow, it will not be 55 billion cubic meters per year, but exactly half ”, the Russian leader underlined.