Russian President Vladimir Putin described today, Wednesday, the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that extend from Russia to Europe as an "act of international terrorism", considering that the attacks on them set a "dangerous precedent".
In his speech during the Russian Energy Week, Putin said that the attacks on Nord Stream are international terrorism, from which the United States, Ukraine and Poland benefit.
He explained that Nord Stream reform is possible, but if its economic feasibility and security are guaranteed.
During his speech, the Russian President stressed his readiness to fulfill the contracts for the supply of oil and gas according to the terms signed via Nord Stream 2, indicating that the ball is in Europe's court.
And with the onset of winter, European leaders rushed to develop a plan to address the rise in energy prices while maintaining sanctions on Russia, and more than half of the European Union countries demanded a price ceiling.
But Putin blamed the West for the disruption of market energy supplies, stressing that his country will not export oil to countries that impose a ceiling on its prices, and explaining that using a ceiling on the gas pricing mechanism will make Europe lose $300 billion.
Referring to setting price ceilings, Putin said, "With their arrogant decisions, some Western politicians are destroying the global market economy and actually posing a threat to the well-being of billions of people."
Before a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin proposed establishing an energy center in Turkey, and said that Russia could "move to the Black Sea region, its main route for fuel and gas supplies to Europe via Turkey, and thus create the largest gas center in Turkey."
European meeting
Simultaneously, the energy ministers of the European Union will participate in the second day of an informal meeting in the Czech capital, Prague, to discuss emergency measures to confront the energy crisis.
Bloomberg said that Germany and the Netherlands will present a multi-pronged plan to reduce energy costs in the European Union, and keep the door open to capping wholesale gas prices, which are used to generate electricity.
The agency noted that the German-Dutch plan focuses on the need for joint European gas purchases, and calls for coordinating efforts to fill gas tanks next year to avoid price hikes.
For his part, the Czech Minister of Trade and Industry Josef Sekila, who is chairing the meeting, said that the countries of the Union must act in a coordinated and united manner to deal with this crisis.
The European Union Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson said that next week the Commission will present proposals for additional measures in an attempt to reduce high energy prices.