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Russia Halts Gas Flows Via Nord Stream 1 Amid Concerns Over Energy Supplies

August 31, 2022

Russia halted gas supplies via a major pipeline to Europe on August 31 amid concerns that Moscow is curbing supplies to pressure Western countries.

Flows fell to zero on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany via the Baltic Sea, according to flow data from entry points linking Nord Stream 1 to the German gas network, for maintenance due to last until the early hours of September 2.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has said that the three-day work at a compressor are "necessary."

But Germany's Federal Network Agency chief Klaus Mueller has called it a "technically incomprehensible" decision, warning that it was likely just a pretext by Moscow to wield energy supplies as a threat.

Experience shows that Moscow "makes a political decision after every so-called maintenance," he said, adding that "we'll only know at the beginning of September if Russia does that again."

The outage has fueled fears that Russia is curbing supply to put pressure on Western nations and break their unity in sanctioning Russia for its war against Ukraine, a charge Moscow denies.

On August 30, French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher accused Russia of "using gas as a weapon of war."

She made the comments after Gazprom said it would be suspending gas deliveries to French gas and power group Engie because of missed payments.

"As we anticipated, Russia is using gas as a weapon of war and is using Engie's way of applying the contracts as a pretext to further reduce French supplies," Agnes Pannier-Runacher said in a statement.

"France has been preparing for this scenario since the spring...," the French minister said, adding that the country had already reduced its exposure to Russian gas imports to 9 percent from roughly the double that amount before the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's disruption and reduction in supply has sent gas prices soaring and forced European governments to scramble for alternative supplies ahead of the winter.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-halts-gas-supplies- nord-stream-1/32011924.html

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.