Gas prices in Europe have fallen after a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Gazprom officials.
The Russian President instructed the country’s state-controlled natural gas company to pump more supplies to the EU, causing prices to fall immediately on Thursday.
Gas prices in Europe have skyrocketed in recent weeks due to strong demand during the economic recovery from the pandemic. Furthermore, the European Union’s reserves have been depleted after the cold winter.
During a call with officials on Wednesday, Putin told Alexei Miller – the head of Gazprom – to start pumping gas to the company’s storage facilities on the block.
The natural gas giant was ordered to supply storage units in Austria and Germany after November 8, at which point Russia’s domestic warehouses are expected to be filled.
“This will enable us to fulfill our contractual commitments in a reliable, stable and consistent manner and to supply gas to our European partners in the autumn and winter,” Putin said.
“This will create a favorable situation, if at all, a better situation in the European energy market in general,” he added.
Currently, the 27 EU member states depend on Russia for more than 40% of their gas imports.
Although Gazprom has fulfilled its obligations under the long-term agreements, it has not sold any more gas on the EU spot market, instead opting to fill national warehouses.
Some European politicians have alleged that Russia is deliberately withholding gas to pressure the German and EU authorities to speed up the final approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
On Thursday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accused Russia of exerting political pressure on Moldova.
“If prices rise, not in Europe, but around the world, it is not, broadly speaking, a consequence of the militarization of gas supplies. In the case of Moldova, it is,” he said.
“Certainly, the gas issue is not only a Moldovan issue, but in the case of Moldova it has political characteristics that must be taken into account.”
The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it would make 60 million euros available to help Moldova cope with the current energy shortage.
“The European Union is ready to support Moldova to find a way out of this crisis,” Borrell said.
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