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Accident in Austria shows importance of reliable gas supplies to Europe — Kremlin

On December 12, the explosion on the territory of a gas distribution station of Austria’s OMV resulted in a complete stoppage of gas transportation over this gas pipeline

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. The accident at the gas distribution station in Austria demonstrates the need for reliable energy supplies to Europe, Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Of course, we are satisfied with the fact that the consequences of the accident were eliminated in a short time. However, the accident clearly shows the importance of reliable supplies of natural gas and energy resources to Europe and acute reliability issues of the entire system," Peskov said.

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At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that "Baumgarten (Austrian city, where the explosion occurred - TASS) receives gas through the Ukrainian system." "You know the situation with heavy wear and tear of this system," Peskov said.

"Of course, in this context, the international large projects that Gazprom is currently working on are called upon to make a significant contribution to strengthening the energy security of Europe," he added.

On December 12, the explosion on the territory of a gas distribution station of Austria’s OMV near Baumgarten resulted in a major fire and complete stoppage of gas transportation over this gas pipeline. The affected gas terminal distributes gas delivered from Russia and Norway to Germany, Italy, France, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary. One third of Russian gas exports to Europe run through Baumgarten.

As the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (an Austrian intelligence agency) said later, the explosion was not a terrorist attack and is connected with a technical malfunction.

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