According to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the suspension of Russian gas deliveries to the two EU member states Poland and Bulgaria is not unexpected for the Union: “We are prepared for this scenario,” she announced yesterday. They are in close contact with all EU countries and have worked to ensure deliveries from other countries.
In addition, there are contingency plans for such a situation. The German politician criticized it as “another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail”. This shows once again “the unreliability of Russia as a gas supplier”.
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Russia stopped its supplies to Poland at 4.07am yesterday. A stop was also announced for Bulgaria. Von der Leyen said that the Europeans could trust that they were united and in solidarity with the EU states concerned.
Bulgarian Energy Minister Aleksandar Nikolov accused Russia of using natural gas as a political and economic weapon. “Bulgaria will not negotiate under pressure,” he said. The supply of important customers with gas is secured for at least a month, said Nikolov.
Poland sees “gas imperialism”
Further steps should be discussed at an expert meeting on Wednesday. “Bulgaria is a long-term, loyal partner under the existing contract, which provides for payments in dollars,” said Nikolov.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described the cessation of Russian gas supplies to Poland in Parliament in Warsaw as a “direct attack” on his country. “This time Russia has pushed the boundaries of imperialism, gas imperialism, one step further.”
Moscow wants to take revenge for the fact that Poland has sanctioned a number of oligarchs and companies, including the state-owned Gazprom. Morawiecki emphasized that Poland has enough gas supplies. The supply is secured. “In the past few months, we have been pumping gas into Polish storage facilities. I stress, into Polish storage facilities, not into Russian-owned storage facilities in Germany.”
After the gas supply stop for Poland and Bulgaria, Russia threatened other countries with similar steps if the payments to the state-owned company Gazprom were not made in rubles. A corresponding decree by President Vladimir Putin will be implemented, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency yesterday. At the end of March, Putin instructed that “unfriendly states”, including all EU members, only pay for Russian gas in rubles.
Peskow rejected accusations by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that this was an “extortion tool”. “It’s not blackmail,” said Peskov. Russia only requires customers to open accounts with Gazprom Bank to process payments.
Accordingly, customers can continue to pay in euros or dollars there as before, the bank converts the amount and transfers the rubles to Gazprom. There are no additional burdens, said Peskow, not even through exchange rates.
Serbia is not affected
Serbia is not affected by the decision to stop supplying gas to Bulgaria. This was confirmed by Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlovic. The gas deliveries would arrive regularly, the minister said yesterday. Serbia is currently getting six million cubic meters of gas from Gazprom via Bulgaria, and the daily requirement is 4.6 million cubic meters.
In the Banatski Dvor gas storage facility in Vojvodina province, which is also used by Gazprom, there are currently 21-day supplies in the Serbian part and 22-day supplies in the part owned by Gazprom, the minister said.
Gazprom, meanwhile, has warned Poland and Bulgaria not to tap into Russian gas supplied to other countries via their territories.
Putin threatens “quick strikes”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened supporters of Ukraine with quick retaliation. Anyone who wants to intervene from outside and create a strategic threat that is unacceptable to Russia must know that the answer will be “quick and quick,” Putin said yesterday in St. Petersburg.
Decisions made: “We have all the tools for this,” said the Kremlin boss at a meeting of top officials. “We’re not going to brag. We will use them when necessary. And I want everyone to know that.” The necessary decisions have been made.
The West wants to split Russia into different parts, Putin stressed. In addition, the West has pushed Ukraine into a conflict with Russia. The “military special operation” in Ukraine, as he called the war, will achieve all of its stated goals, he stressed. The Kremlin chief had previously had the country’s nuclear weapons put on increased alert as a warning to NATO.
Source: Nachrichten
