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Gas prices up as Russia announce retaliatory sanctions, says German regulator’s chief

Russian sanctions do not cover operators of Germany’s gas distribution network, meaning gas from Russia will continue flowing to the country, via companies not affected by restrictions though, Klaus Mueller noted

BERLIN, May 12. /TASS/. Gas prices rose after Russia announced retaliatory sanctions in the energy sector, though they are at an expected level, president of Germany’s Federal grid agency (Bundesnetzagentur) Klaus Mueller told a press conference on Thursday.

"We closely monitored prices on exchanges. They are not at a good level, I share this viewpoint, but everything is as expected," he said.

Russian sanctions do not cover operators of Germany’s gas distribution network, meaning gas from Russia will continue flowing to the country, via companies not affected by restrictions though, Mueller noted. "Currently there is no evidence that less Russian gas will be flowing to Germany and Europe," the head of the regulator said.

On Wednesday the Russian government greenlighted a list of legal entities subject to retaliatory sanctions. In particular, the blacklist includes Gazprom Germania GmbH, Gazprom Schweiz AG, Gazprom Marketing & Trading USA Inc, Vemex, Wingas, EuRoPol GAZ.

On March 31, 2022, Gazprom Group ceased the participation in the German company Gazprom Germania Gmbh and all its assets, including Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd. The holding no longer owns the St. Petersburg-registered subsidiary Gazprom Export Business Services, which in turn is the sole founder of Gazprom Germania GmbH. The Russian holding said that those companies should stop using Gazprom's trademarks.

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