XPost: alt.politics.europe.misc, sci.geo.petroleum, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics, alt.politics.trump   
   From: democrat-criminals@mail.house.gov   
      
   Russia claims punitive economic sanctions imposed by the West are   
   responsible for the indefinite halt to gas supplies via Europe’s main   
   pipeline.   
      
   It represents the clearest indication yet that the Kremlin is seeking to   
   force Europe to lift the economic measures in order for Moscow to turn the   
   taps back on ahead of winter.   
      
   “This latest move has significantly increased the risk that Europe may not   
   get further gas flows through Nord Stream 1 for the whole winter,”   
   analysts at energy consultancy Rystad Energy said in a research note.   
      
   Europe has been thrown into its biggest energy crisis in decades with   
   natural gas supplies from Russia becoming volatile and unpredictable even   
   before the invasion of Ukraine began. Now, those supplies have come to a   
   complete halt.   
      
   Russia claims punitive economic sanctions imposed on it by the West are   
   responsible for the indefinite halt to gas supplies via Europe’s main   
   pipeline.   
      
   “Problems in pumping arose because of the sanctions imposed against our   
   country and against a number of companies by Western states, including   
   Germany and the U.K.,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on   
   Monday, according to Russian state news agency Interfax.   
      
   Asked whether pumping gas via Nord Stream 1 was completely dependent on   
   the sanctions and that supplies would resume if these were lifted or   
   relaxed, Peskov replied, “Of course. The very sanctions that prevent the   
   maintenance of units, which prevent them from moving without appropriate   
   legal guarantees, which prevent these legal guarantees from being given,   
   and so on.”   
      
   “It is precisely these sanctions that the Western states have introduced   
   that have brought the situation to what we see now,” Peskov added.   
      
   Coming directly from the Kremlin, such comments represent the clearest   
   indication yet that Russia is seeking to pressure Europe to lift the   
   economic measures, brought on to punish Russia over its unprovoked   
   invasion of Ukraine, in order for the taps to be turned back on ahead of   
   winter.   
      
   European lawmakers have repeatedly accused Russia, traditionally its   
   largest energy supplier, of weaponizing energy exports in an attempt to   
   drive up commodity prices and sow uncertainty across the 27-nation bloc.   
   Moscow denies using energy as a weapon.   
      
   Russia’s state-owned energy giant, Gazprom, halted all exports via Nord   
   Stream 1 from Aug. 31, citing maintenance work on its only remaining   
   compressor.   
      
   However, while flows were due to resume after three days, Gazprom on   
   Friday cited an oil leak for the indefinite shutdown of the pipeline. The   
   shock announcement came hot on the heels of a joint statement from the G-7   
   economic powers backing a proposal to put a price-capping mechanism on   
   Russian oil.   
      
   In what energy analysts see as an escalation of Russia’s bid to inflict   
   economic pain on the region, the Kremlin has since said that the   
   resumption of gas supplies to Europe is completely dependent on Europe   
   lifting its economic sanctions against Moscow.   
      
   The halt to supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which connects Russia   
   to Germany via the Baltic Sea, prompted European gas prices to jump   
   Monday, with many fearful that parts of Europe could be forced to ration   
   energy through the winter. It has also exacerbated the risk of a recession   
   in the region.   
      
   Gazprom vs. Siemens Energy   
   Meanwhile, Gazprom’s deputy CEO, Vitaly Markelov, told Reuters on Tuesday   
   that gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would not continue until   
   Germany’s Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment.   
      
   Siemens Energy was not immediately available to comment when contacted by   
   CNBC on Tuesday.   
      
   However, the company told Reuters that it’s not currently commissioned by   
   Gazprom to do maintenance work on the turbine with the suspected oil leak,   
   but said it remains on standby to do so.   
      
   Siemens Energy added that it “cannot comprehend this new representation   
   based on the information provided to us over the weekend.”   
      
   Mark Dixon, founder of the Moral Rating Agency, a research organization   
   focused on foreign firms in Russia, said Gazprom blaming Siemens Energy   
   for the gas supply cut was “yet another example of a state lie from the   
   Russian Federation.”   
      
   “Russia lied its way into the invasion and has lied ever since,” Dixon   
   said. “Gazprom is Russia, make no mistake. It has no choice but to lie in   
   chorus with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”   
      
   Russia has drastically reduced gas supplies to Europe in recent months,   
   with flows via the pipeline operating at just 20% of the agreed-upon   
   volume before the indefinite suspension.   
      
   “Russia’s move to again cut gas supply to the EU just as the region   
   scrambles to fill its inventories ahead of winter is a further escalation   
   of its policy of the past months to inflict economic pain through repeated   
   supply cuts to Germany, the EU’s biggest economy and gas consumer,”   
   analysts at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a research   
   note.   
      
   “Sources in Berlin say they are now making all winter energy plans on the   
   assumption of zero supply from Russia,” they added. “That means there will   
   now also be a focus on central and southern Europe, which still receives   
   Russian gas including through pipeline transit of Ukraine and Turkey.”   
      
   Winter is coming   
   European policymakers are currently racing to secure gas supplies in   
   underground facilities in order to have enough fuel to keep homes warm   
   during the colder months.   
      
   Energy analysts say Russia’s latest move to suspend gas flows via Europe’s   
   major supply route could exacerbate what was already likely to be an   
   extremely challenging winter period.   
      
   “The European energy sector continues to be shocked by price volatility   
   and uncertainty over energy balances for the coming winter,” analysts at   
   consultancy Rystad Energy said in a research note, noting that power spot   
   prices across Western Europe have climbed to “unparalleled levels.”   
      
   “This latest move has significantly increased the risk that Europe may not   
   get further gas flows through Nord Stream 1 for the whole winter,” they   
   added.   
      
      
   --   
   "LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering.  95% of COVID infections   
   recover with no after effects.   
      
   No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.   
   Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.   
      
   Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"   
   ballots.  Report voter fraud: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov   
      
   Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden   
   fiasco, President Trump.   
      
   Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the   
   The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood   
   queer liberal democrat donors.   
      
      
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