Europe has been plunged deeper into crisis as Russia’s Gazprom PJSC again halted its key gas pipeline indefinitely, a move decried by European politicians as an attempt to use energy as a weapon.
The EU said Gazprom was acting on “fallacious pretences”. Siemens Energy, which makes the pipeline’s turbines, said what Gazprom had found didn’t justify cutting the gas, a view shared by Germany’s grid agency. There was no comment from the Kremlin. Use of gas as a weapon will not change the resolve of the EU. We will accelerate our path towards energy independence.“The situation is tense and a further deterioration of the situation cannot be ruled out,” the German Network Agency said on Saturday. “However, gas supply in Germany is stable at the moment. Security of supply in Germany continues to be guaranteed at present.”
“We have already seen Russia’s unreliability in the past few weeks and accordingly we have unwaveringly and consistently continued our measures to strengthen independence from Russian energy imports,” the Economy Ministry said on Friday.
Well, it’s like farting against thunder when the EU decide to halt granting visas to Russians desiring to vacation in Europe. Gas vs. Visas? It’s not a hard choice, I reckon. “War is nothing but a continuation of policy by other means,” said Clausewitz.
...just like using sanctions as a weapon...