Russia has opportunities to increase natural gas supplies to Europe, where a significant rise in gas prices is having a negative impact on consumers, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the existing gas transit routes provided an opportunity to increase supplies before the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which will supply Russian gas to Germany, became operational.
“There is potential,” Peskov told reporters in a conference call. “It all depends on demand, contractual obligations and commercial agreements.”
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that the launch of Nord Stream 2 would quickly stabilize Europe’s energy markets, but some experts in Europe believe that Moscow is trying to encourage regulators to approve the commissioning of the pipeline sooner.
Asked to comment on Novak, Peskov said Russia could increase deliveries on existing routes.
As reported, Putin said on Wednesday that the European Union itself is to blame for the current high gas prices by renouncing long-term contracts in favor of stock prices.
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