Putin challenges Europe to reactivate Nord Stream 2 after Baltic sabotage

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed Russia’s readiness to send gas to Europe through Nord Stream 2, a project parked for political reasons and which Moscow is now trying to reclaim after recent acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea.

As a result of this sabotage, “an action of international terrorism” in Putin’s words, Nord Stream 1 has been rendered unusable, despite the fact that it no longer served as a source of supply due to the interruption of service in early September.

Putin has claimed that Nord Stream 2 can be repaired and thus become operational, something that never came to pass because Germany parked the project in retaliation after the start of the Russian military offensive on Ukraine.

Russia’s president, appearing Wednesday at an energy forum, said the Nord Stream sabotage sets a “dangerous precedent” and aims to further cloud relations with the European Union, according to official news agencies.

In his speech, Putin has avoided blaming anyone for the sabotage, but he has cited Ukraine, Poland and the United States as the main beneficiaries, the latter two countries because they would gain relevance as countries of origin or transit of energy.

However, he has assured that Russia will be able to place its gas on the world market thanks to the connections that remain open with China and Turkey, just as he has ruled out consequences for oil exports, which he expects to remain the same at least until 2025.