The EU imposed sanctions against Moscow and closed off supply routes, but now wants to blame the gas shortages on Gazprom, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday. Russia is ready to deliver as much gas as Europe needs, if the EU wishes to stop “stepping on rakes,” Putin said while visiting Tehran for the summit with presidents of Iran and Turkey.
“What does Gazprom have to do with it? They closed one route, the second route, put these gas pumping stations under sanctions,” Putin said when asked about the current shortage of gas in Germany. “Gazprom is ready to pump as much as necessary, but [the West] closed everything themselves. And they are stepping on the same rake when it comes to oil and petroleum products,” the Russian president added.
The Russian gas giant has always fulfilled its contractual obligations, Putin added, calling accusations against Gazprom “completely baseless” and an attempt by Western countries to “shift the blame for their own mistakes” onto Russia.