Putin will ‘push US administration to edge’ says Mike Pompeo
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In a televised government meeting, the Russian President said today (Wednesday) that the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline would stabilise gas prices in Europe. His remarks appear to indicate that the US’s decision to send 20 liquefied natural gas tankers to Europe was interpreted as a threat to the Kremlin.
Mr Putin told the meeting that the second line of the pipe would soon be filled with gas.
Construction on the pipeline – which runs from Russia to Germany on the bed of the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine – was completed in September.
However, it has laid idle while awaiting regulatory approval from Berlin and Brussels and has become a political tool in growing tensions between the West and Russia.
Earlier today, Russian state media reported that Alexander Novak, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, believed the pipeline would be given the green light in the first half of 2022.
The EU has been struggling with an energy crisis since a global shortage of natural gas earlier this year.
The economic bloc – whose largest supplier of gas is Russia – had been hampered by a reduced supply.
Mr Putin has faced accusations that he was engineering the crisis, using the monopoly on gas in Europe to drive up prices.
After the US sent its own tankers laden with liquefied natural gas, the price of gas in Europe tumbled.
More to follow…
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