A number of energy companies have told the US State Department that there are few alternatives to Russian gas in the event of a supply disruption, Reuters reported, citing US officials and two industry sources.
According to the agency, the US authorities have held talks with some international energy companies on contingency plans regarding natural gas supplies to Europe in the event that “a conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupts supplies.”
According to agency sources, American diplomats asked the companies where they could get gas from if necessary. They replied that the world’s fuel supplies are limited, there is practically no gas to replace large volumes of imports from Russia.
At the same time, one of the interlocutors of the agency said that the United States promised “to provide support to Europe in case of energy shortages due to conflict or sanctions.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry has more than once refuted reports of a “pulling” of troops to the border with Ukraine, which the West uses as a pretext for sanctions ultimatums to Moscow. The diplomatic department calls talk about a potential conflict between Russia and Ukraine another fiction. Vladimir Putin also stressed that Moscow is not going to attack anyone. According to him, the Russian threat is “an invention of those who want to cash in on their role as the vanguard of the fight against Russia, to receive some kind of bonuses and preferences for this.”
At the same time, tensions in the region are fueled by the United States and other countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, which supply Kiev with weapons and military instructors, and also increased the number of exercises in the Black Sea. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, this could provoke the Ukrainian authorities “to military adventures,” which poses a direct threat to Russia’s security. Moscow believes that the West is trying to create a group of troops near the Russian borders.
Vladimir Putin has previously stressed that the further expansion of NATO to the east and the deployment of offensive weapons on Ukrainian territory and in neighboring countries are red lines for Moscow.
The gas market in Europe has been fluctuating since the end of summer. Back in early August, futures traded at $515 per thousand cubic meters, but by the end of September they had more than doubled, and on October 6 jumped to a historic high of $1,937. This was followed by some decline, but prices continue to stay at a high level.
According to Vladimir Putin, the shortage of gas in the European market was the result of the economic policy of the European Commission.
As Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak emphasized on Friday, January 14, neither Gazprom nor Russia as a whole are to blame for the energy crisis in Europe. He pointed out that the underground gas storages were empty due to the long winter. In addition, the economy began to recover, and liquefied natural gas from the United States and other countries, such as Qatar, “went to Asia.”