Germany says Russian gas cut is an "attack"

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Germany's Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, said that Gazprom's slashing of gas supplies amount to an "attack" by Moscow.

"The reduction of gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is an attack on us, an economic attack on us," Habeck said in a speech to a German industry conference. 

Last week, Gazprom said on Wednesday that it will be able to deliver no more than 67 million cubic meters of gas per day via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline starting from Thursday. Deliveries of gas through Nord Stream will be cut by almost a third following Gazprom's decision.

Gazprom cited delayed repairs as the cause behind the cut, while Germany called the decision "political".

Germany, Austria, and the Netherland were forced to reactivate some abandoned coal power plants to reduce gas consumption while Berlin also mandated that its gas reserves, which are now just under 60% full, be filled to 90% ahead of the European winter to avoid a further reduction in its supply.

"When we go into the winter with half full gas stores and the taps are turned off then we are talking about a difficult economic crisis in Germany," Habeck said, calling for the diversification of suppliers of raw materials and energy.

According to Habeck, Germany had a "system rivalry" with Russia and China. The latter, according to the economy minister is a "big market" but urged the industry to use trade to promote "our values".