Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, has denounced Russia for trying to "blackmail" Europe after Russia's Gazprom announced cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.
Theguardian.com informed about this.
“Gazprom's announcement that it is going to cut off unilaterally gas supplies to consumers in Europe is another attempt by Russia to use gas as a tool for blackmail. This is unreasonable and unacceptable. And this once again shows Russia's unreliability as a gas supplier, "the newspaper informed.
Ms. Von der Leyen noted that the European Union was ready for such a scenario.
Gazprom's announcement is another attempt by Russia to blackmail us with gas.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 27, 2022
We are prepared for this scenario. We are mapping out our coordinated EU response.
Europeans can trust that we stand united and in solidarity with the Member States impacted.
"We are in close contact with all Member States. We have been working to ensure alternative deliveries and the best possible storage levels (gas supply, ed.) across the EU,”she added.
The Head of the European Commission said that the EU has developed plans in case of such a situation. The appropriate crisis managing negotiations between the coordination group on this issue are underway in Brussels.
“We will also continue working with international partners to secure alternative flows. And I will continue working with European and world leaders to ensure the security of energy supply in Europe.Europeans can trust that we stand united and in full solidarity with the Member States impacted in the face of this new challenge. Europeans can count on our full support." Ms. Von der Leyen added.
To remind, Gazprom has completely suspended supplies to Bulgargaz (Bulgaria) and PGNiG (Poland) due to the refusal to pay in rubles.
However, on the morning of April 27, Russia resumed gas supplies to Poland. Supplies under the Yamal contract have increased since decreasing to zero yesterday.
Physical gas flows through the Yamal-Poland pipeline from Belarus amounted to 3,449,688 kWh / h at 6:22 of Central European Time. “This step is caused by the willingness of the occupier to strengthen its currency and declare economic war on Europe”, Andriy Yermak, the Head of the President's Office, said.