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Vladimir Putin's annual press conference

Putin reveals EU resale scheme of Gazprom’s gas at spot prices may be fueling crisis

The Russian President also recalled that the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline has been switched to reverse mode

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. European buyers are reselling gas they receive from Gazprom under long-term contracts at spot prices, which are up to 7 times higher than contract prices, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his annual press conference on Thursday.

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He noted that there is every reason to believe that, in particular, such deliveries are being organized for Ukraine from Germany through Poland.

"They switched this route (Yamal-Europe - TASS) to reverse mode, that is, from Germany to Poland. And they have been pumping [gas] from Germany to Poland for several days. Why? Simply because we supply gas to Germany under long-term contracts that are four, six, and seven times cheaper than on spot [market]," the head of state noted.

According to him, the resale of 1 billion cubic meters of gas can pull in about $900 million.

The Russian leader stressed that consumers in Europe and Germany need to know what's going on.

"I have every reason to believe that this gas will eventually go to Ukraine," President Putin explained. He advised European consumers to contact their respective officials for clarification.

The head of state recalled that there is a connection between the Polish gas pipeline system and the Ukrainian one, which makes it possible to pump about 3 million cubic meters of gas per day. And it is this amount that is now being pumped in reverse from Germany to Poland.

"Instead of pumping [gas] to Poland and then to Ukraine, helping somebody not to lose their pants, it would be better to continue supplies to Europe, in particular to Germany, and influence the price on the spot market. Because the larger the product’s volume is on the market, the lower the price will be. But they started reverse-pumping, and that’s the problem. So, what does Gazprom have to do with it?" Putin asked.

"They shouldn’t think that they are so smart and assume that God is not watching them. The problems they created for themselves should be solved by them alone. And we are ready to help them. We are doing this. It seems to me that I have convincingly shown this now," he stressed.

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