Putin questions Germany's gas decision amid European energy crisis
During a meeting with representatives of foreign news agencies, Russian leader Vladimir Putin questioned Europe's decision to abandon Russian gas, explicitly pointing out Germany. However, he emphasized that Russia and Gazprom will endure.
According to Putin, Germany's decision to stop receiving gas from Russia through the Nord Stream pipeline is unlogical. "I don't even understand it," the Russian president said.
"What is the logic? You can get it through the territory of Ukraine, you can get it through Turkey, but you can’t get it through the Baltic Sea. This is ridiculous. There is no formal logic, I don’t even understand it," he said during the meeting, as reported by Kommersant.
Following Russia's armed attack on Ukraine, Russian Gazprom lost the European market due to its steps to limit transmission and Western sanctions.
Russian expert Konstantin Simonov, cited by the "Financial Times," highlighted that Gazprom has already lost more than 80% of the European market. Meanwhile, there is ongoing debate in Europe about completely giving up Russian gas deliveries by 2028.
Before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Gazprom supplied 35% of the gas imported by European Union member states. This enabled Vladimir Putin's regime to use energy blackmail against the EU, attempting to deter aid to the defending Ukrainians.
