Putin says gas giant Gazprom to fulfil obligations 'in full'
Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday said gas giant Gazprom will fulfil all its obligations "in full" and mocked the West for relying on green energy.
"Gazprom has fulfilled, is fulfilling and will fulfil its obligations in full," Putin told reporters in Tehran after holding talks with the leaders of Iran and Turkey.
Since Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24 and the West responded with sanctions against Moscow, Russia has begun reducing its gas deliveries to prevent EU countries from replenishing reserves, prompting the European Commission to prepare "a gas demand reduction plan" to get through the next winter.
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Speaking in Tehran, Putin took a jab at the West for seeking to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and switch to green energy.
"They are great experts in the field of non-traditional relations, and in the field of energy, they have also decided to rely on non-traditional types of energy -- the sun and wind," Putin quipped.
"They themselves are shutting down everything and then looking for someone to blame -- it would be funny if it were not so sad."
In May, EU leaders agreed to stop most Russian oil imports by the end of the year, as part of unprecedented sanctions they slapped on Moscow over its intervention in Ukraine.
But the bloc put off an outright ban on Russian gas.
