According to statements made by Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to the Russian state news agency TASS on Sunday, Russia is willing to resume gas shipments to Europe via the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, which had been previously interrupted due to political reasons.
Because there is still a lack of gas, the European market is still important, and there is a good chance that we will be able to resume shipments. “For instance, the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which was halted for political reasons and has since been abandoned, is still not being used,” Novak explained.
According to TASS, Novak stated that there has been an increase in the demand for gas coming from Europe.
We are now in a position where we can claim with absolute certainty that there is a market for our gas. As a result, we will not stop thinking about Europe as a prospective market for the distribution of our goods. “It is very evident that an extensive effort was conducted against us, the culmination of which was the commission of acts of sabotage against Nord Stream,” he stated.
Since it invaded Ukraine in February, Russia and Europe have been locked in an energy standoff with each other.
In May, only 44 hours after Ukraine reduced the flow of natural gas across its territory into Europe, blaming interference by Russian troops, Gazprom stopped supplies through the Yamal-Europe pipeline running across Poland and stopped sending gas to a distributor in Germany. This came after Ukraine blamed the interference on Russian troops. Gazprom was reportedly compelled to cease shipments after sanctions were placed on its parent company, EuRoPol GAZ. The news was reported by the state-run news outlet RIA Novosti. According to TASS, in December, the gas supply that runs from Germany to Poland and goes from the West to the East was temporarily cut off, “dropping to zero.”