MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. The Nord Stream gas pipelines were most likely blown up by the Americans or by someone they ordered to do so, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"We did not undermine Nord Stream 1 and partially Nord Stream 2. It was most likely the Americans who did this or someone they ordered," he said during his combined Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference.
He drew attention to the fact that Germany is not opening the functional Nord Stream 2 pipe for pumping gas. "If they don’t want to, they don’t have to. They are seeing skyrocketing prices, with entire industries being shut down - the glass, chemical sectors, metallurgy is suffering. And, hence, they have problems with everything connected to this," he said. "The German economy is likely to go into the red, slightly, but in the red. But this is their choice, not ours."
Europe has itself to blame for not getting enough gas, he noted.
"Strange as might seem but they tried to blame us for this, that we refuse to sell. This is utter nonsense because it was not us who shut down the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline. It was done by Poland. It was not us who halted supplies via the second pipe across Ukraine. It was done by Ukraine," he went on to say.
When asked why Russia continues to pump gas to Europe despite unprecedented sanctions pressure, Putin noted that Gazprom, which supplies gas to Europe, is a reliable partner. "It has contract liabilities and it has always fulfilled them and is doing this now," he stressed.