Gas taps can be still turned on to EU, says Vladimir Putin - BBC

President Vladimir Putin has said the state taps tin beryllium inactive turned connected for Russian supplies to the EU, contempt crisp governmental disagreements.

Russia has not delivered state to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 enactment since August, and Nord Stream 2 was halted aft Russia invaded Ukraine.

The February penetration led to state terms hikes, and EU customers look grounds tariffs this winter.

But Germany rapidly rejected Mr Putin's connection to nonstop state via Nord Stream 2.

At the aforesaid time, a authorities spokesperson successful Berlin said Nord Stream 1 - which is not nether sanctions - was an option, but state was not flowing "because Russia did not deliver".

Russia has been accused of utilizing state supplies arsenic a limb against the West since the penetration of Ukraine - a complaint repeatedly denied by the Kremlin.

"The ball, arsenic they say, is present successful the European Union's tribunal - fto them conscionable unfastened the tap," Mr Putin said connected Wednesday astatine the yearly Russian Energy Week successful Moscow.

"We bash not bounds anyone successful anything," helium said, adding that Moscow was acceptable to proviso further volumes of state successful the autumn-winter period.

But contempt Mr Putin's words, a resumption of state supplies to Europe seems unlikely.

Nord Stream 2 was halted due to the fact that of the invasion, and Nord Stream 1 has suffered terrible disruption successful caller months:

At the Moscow forum, Mr Putin described the leaks an "act of planetary terrorism". But helium said Russia was acceptable to resume supplies via the 1 intact portion of Nord Stream 2.

And the Kremlin person besides projected creating an alternate European state hub via Turkey. Ankara is yet to publically remark connected the issue.

Many European countries - and Germany successful peculiar - had go progressively reliant connected Russian gas.

Over the past year, Russia chopped its state supplies to EU states by 88%, according to David Fyfe, main economist with probe steadfast Argus Media.

Wholesale prices of state successful Europe person much than doubled implicit the aforesaid period, helium said.

The EU has already adopted a raft of measures to mitigate the crisis, including a pan-EU woody to chopped state usage by 15%.

Spain has already brought successful akin measures and Switzerland - not an EU subordinate - is considering doing the same.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany relied connected Russia for 55% of its gas. It has reduced this to 35% and wants yet to trim imports to zero.

Germany is besides expanding its usage of ember and extending the beingness of powerfulness stations which were owed to unopen - contempt the antagonistic biology impact.

Gas prices person besides changeable up successful the UK, adjacent though it imported precise small state from Russia, due to the fact that the shortages affected the planetary state price.

The authorities successful London has moved to bounds vigor measure rises for each households, with a emblematic measure being capped astatine £2,500 annually until 2024.

On Wednesday, EU vigor ministers are discussing successful Prague urgent measures to tackle the vigor situation successful the 27-member bloc.

A state terms headdress has been suggested - but immoderate countries are reported to beryllium opposed to the move.

In a abstracted improvement connected Wednesday, Poland reported a leak successful the Druzhba - meaning Friendship - pipeline that supplies lipid from Russia to Europe via Poland.

The leak connected the Polish portion of the pipeline is being investigated.

Senior Polish vigor assemblage authoritative Mateusz Berger said it was astir apt "accidental damage", Reuters reports. At this signifier "no grounds astatine all" to judge that it was sabotage, the authoritative added.