Do the persistent rumors of a joint visit to kyiv by Olaf Scholz, Mario Draghi and Emmanuel Macron have something to do with it?
Still, since Tuesday, the Russian public giant Gazprom has reduced its gas deliveries to Germany and Italy.
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The group announced two successive reductions in the cubic meters delivered via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline which links Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.
If the announcements are well followed, the double tube would only provide 40% of its capacity.
Officially, the Russian company explains its gesture by a delay of parts manufactured by the German Siemens, which would be under maintenance in Canada.
“A mere pretext,”
German Economy Minister and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck denounced on Wednesday.
For the ecologist, critic of his country's dependence on Russian gas,
"it is obviously a strategy of destabilization and to drive up prices".
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If this tightening of the floodgates were to last, it would complicate the energy situation in Germany in the coming weeks.
To have a quiet winter, Berlin is looking to fill its national gas storages to 80% in October and 90% in November.
They are currently only 55.6% full.
We can currently buy the necessary volumes on the market
, assures Robert Habeck,
but at higher prices
.
On the European market
in Rotterdam, natural gas has propelled itself since Monday by 30%.
Italy also a victim
The Italian company ENI is also the victim of drop in deliveries.
She confirms that Gazprom communicated to her a limited reduction in gas supplies for the day on Wednesday, equivalent to around 15%, a spokesperson told AFP.
As for the reasons for this drop,
“they have not been notified at this stage”.
While defending himself, Vladimir Putin, more than ever, expertly uses his hydrocarbons as a formidable economic weapon.