Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a decisive Russian strike in the winter aimed at increasing pressure on gas supplies to Europe, while the European Union said that its countries had taken emergency measures to prevent a gas crisis during the coming winter.

In his daily video message on Saturday evening, the Ukrainian president called for the intensification of Western sanctions against Russia to deprive it of hydrocarbon revenues, adding that Moscow is trying to increase pressure on Europe by stopping the pumping of gas via Nord Stream 1, in order to "weaken and intimidate countries in the region." Europe".

The indefinite closure of the Russian gas giant, Gazprom, the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, on Friday, raised questions about alternative ways for Europe to overcome any shortage of energy supplies with the approach of winter.

Moscow justifications

Nord Stream 1 - which passes under the Baltic Sea to deliver supplies from Russia to Germany and other countries - was scheduled to resume work on Saturday after a 3-day hiatus for maintenance.

Moscow blamed the obstruction of routine operations and maintenance of Nord Stream 1 on the sanctions imposed by the West after Russia launched its war on Ukraine on February 24.

Brussels and Washington accuse Russia of using gas as an economic weapon.

Before the last stop for the maintenance of "Nord Stream 1", Gazprom reduced the flow of gas through this pipeline to Europe to only 20% of its capacity.


The decision of the "seven"

The Russian action came hours after the finance ministers of the Group of Seven (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States) announced on Friday that they plan to implement a ceiling on the price of crude oil for Russia and its petroleum products.

The G7 finance ministers said the decision aims to "reduce Russia's ability to finance its aggressive war (on Ukraine), as well as reduce the impact of the Russian war on global energy prices."

The Kremlin - which describes the war in Ukraine as a "special military operation" - announced that it would stop selling oil to any country that applied the cap.

The European Union (with the exception of 3 of its members) is preparing to ban the import of Russian oil from the fifth of next December, and also to prevent European insurance companies from covering Russian oil transfers to other destinations outside the European Union.

emergency measures

The spokesman for the European Union in the Middle East and North Africa, Luis Miguel Bueno, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the European Union countries will face difficulties in the coming winter, but in return they have taken emergency measures, and the options before them are very clear.

Bueno pointed out that the EU countries received gas from other countries in the past months, amounting to about 21 billion cubic meters.

European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni said on Saturday that the EU was "well prepared" in the event of a complete halt to Russian gas supplies thanks to storage and energy-saving measures.

The European official explained that "gas storage (in the European Union) has now reached nearly 80% (of the absorptive capacity) thanks to the diversification of supply sources," even if the situation differs from one country to another.

European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Gentiloni: The Union is well prepared in the event of a complete halt to Russian gas supplies (Reuters)

In Sweden, the government announced on Saturday that it will provide financial guarantees to energy companies in the Nordic and Baltic countries amounting to billions of dollars, with the aim of trying to avoid a financial crisis that may be caused by the energy crisis in Europe.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson warned at a press conference that her country may face a difficult winter, as she put it.

The Swedish guarantees are expected to be in effect on Monday before the stock market closes, and will cover all players in the Nordic and Baltic countries for the next two weeks.

The Swedish parliament has cut short its summer recess to vote on the government's safeguards proposal on Monday.

Germany and France

In Germany, the German news agency reported that the three parties that make up the ruling coalition agreed on a package of new economic measures to help consumers cope with the recent sharp increase in energy prices, due to the Corona pandemic and the Russian gas crisis, according to sources familiar with the talks.

The German Economy Ministry said that there is tension in the gas market, but stressed that "the security of supply is guaranteed."

The ministry added that tangible progress was recorded in securing supplies of gas alternative to Russian gas, and revealed that gas storage levels currently exceed 84%.

In France, the authorities said that they would operate all 56 nuclear reactors during the winter in order to overcome any expected energy crisis, and French Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher called for European solidarity to overcome the next winter without a shortage of energy supplies.


American support

On the other side of the Atlantic, the US National Security Council said - in response to a question to Al Jazeera - that it is not surprising that Russia continues to use energy as a weapon against European consumers.

The Council added that the United States is cooperating with Europe to ensure the availability of sufficient supplies, explaining that as a result of these efforts, Europe's gas reserves will be full by the winter season.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, said that the stability of energy supplies and the stability of prices is very important and key.

In an interview with the Singapore and Asia News Agency, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar stated that Qatar supplies gas shipments to Europe and Asia in compliance with its contracts.

The Qatari official added that his country will continue to invest in the field of natural gas, pointing out that it invests a lot of time to ensure that its energy does not harm the environment, and that this expansion of investment in the field of natural gas will contribute to strengthening the stability of the energy market in the future.

On the other hand, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that his country did not set Russia's competition in the European energy market as a goal.

Aliyev added - in an interview with an Italian newspaper - that his country has its own place in the market, and that it has concluded agreements to supply gas to three European countries: Italy, Greece and Bulgaria.

He pointed out that there is a need for Azerbaijani gas in other European countries, and that his country is in the process of evaluating this need.

It is noteworthy that the energy crisis in Europe coincides this year with an unprecedented drought in the old continent for centuries, in addition to significant rises in commodity prices in the past few months with the continuing repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war.