Putin Blames Europe for the Gas Price Crisis
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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds Europe responsible for the current energy crisis and asserts that the Europeans "made mistakes" in gas contracts with Russia.
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Putin calls European energy policy 'wrong'
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Europe was to blame for the current energy crisis after soaring gas prices spurred accusations that Moscow is withholding supplies to pressure the West.
"They've made mistakes," Putin said in a televised meeting with Russian energy officials.
He said that one of the factors influencing the prices was the termination of "long-term contracts" in favor of the spot market.
"It turned out, and today this is absolutely obvious, that this policy is wrong," Putin said.
European and UK gas prices surged on Wednesday by more than 25%, fueled by demand before the northern hemisphere winter.
Critics have accused Moscow of intentionally limiting gas supplies to Europe in order to hasten the launch of Nord Stream 2, a controversial pipeline connecting Russia with Germany.
Earlier on Wednesday, Putin's Spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied those claims.
"First and foremost — we don't just think — we insist that Russia does not and cannot have any role in what is going on in the European gas market," Peskov told reporters.
"Russia has fulfilled, is fulfilling, and will continue to responsibly fulfill all of its obligations under existing contracts," Peskov said.
Russian energy giant Gazprom announced last month that the 10-billion-euro ($12 billion) pipeline has been completed, and the Kremlin has said its launch will help combat the energy crisis in Europe.
