SOCHI, October 21. /TASS/. The gas crisis in Europe is a consequence of dysfunctional capitalism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai International Club on Thursday.
"What we are observing now on the energy markets - we will certainly talk about this later - is a manifestation of the very capitalism that does not work," he said.
Putin recalled the price of gas in Europe has already exceeded $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters under the market regulation.
The crisis in the European gas industry escalated this autumn, after spot gas prices began to skyrocket, exceeding $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters and almost reached $2,000 per 1,000 cubic meters amid low occupancy of gas storage facilities.
According to observers, the crisis was caused by a number of factors. One of them was the explosive growth in gas demand from Asia, which caused a surge in prices on the Asian market, as well as an outflow of supplies from the European routes. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the share of wind generation in Europe decreased.
However, the main reason for the high volatility in the gas market was the low capacity rate of gas storage facilities. As of mid-October, European underground gas storage facilities were filled by 71% of the volume of gas that was taken from them last season.