Russia is ready to supply gas to Europe on the one undamaged line on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if the EU wants to start the route, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an energy forum in Russia on Wednesday.
Russia is ready to deliver additional volumes of natural gas to Europe this winter, but the ball is in the EU’s court to decide, Putin said, as carried by the Russian news agency Interfax.
Putin also said that repairing the Nord Stream 1 and 2 lines that were found to have been attacked would only make sense if they will be used later, Interfax quoted the Russian president as saying.
Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation after Germany axed the certification process following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia, for its part, shut down Nord Stream 1 indefinitely in early September, claiming an inability to repair gas turbines because of the Western sanctions.
Before the Nord Stream 1 and 2 leaks were detected at the end of September, Putin said that Russia had nothing to do with Europe’s energy crisis and that if Europe wanted more gas, it just had to “push the button” on Nord Stream 2 and “everything will get going,” that is, lift the sanctions on Nord Stream 2, OilPrice.com writes.
Gazprom can supply gas via Nord Stream 2 immediately after its certification
Gazprom is ready to start deliveries via the remaining Nord Stream 2 pipeline immediately after the gas pipeline is certified by the EU, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said at the Russian Energy Week forum.
“The second line has pressure, so we can definitely say that the ball is on the side of the European Union, Germany. If the gas pipeline receives a certificate, then we can start gas supplies immediately,” he said.
Milller noted that Russia has not yet been allowed to the sites of accidents at the pipeline.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters earlier on Wednesday that Russia is ready to participate in the Nord Stream investigation and has sent petitions to three countries.