Claims of Moscow Manipulating Gas Prices 'Confusing' and 'Fake', Russian Ambassador to Germany Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Claims by some German politicians that Russia is trying to inflate spot gas prices and restrict gas supplies to Europe are "confusing" and fake, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechaev said on Saturday.

‍ "We saw statements of some German politicians, as well as publications in a number of media, accusing the Russian leadership and Gazprom [energy company] of allegedly failing to fulfil their obligations, artificially restricting supplies to the European gas market, unprecedentedly inflating spot prices, seeking to freeze Europeans during the upcoming winter... These statements are confusing. They have nothing to do with the real state of affairs", the ambassador said in a comment to the German news agency RND.

The diplomat called such accusations "outright fakes" and "primitive anti-Russian lies".

‍"Over the more than 50 years of successful cooperation with European countries in the gas sector, Moscow has never used the supply of raw materials as an 'energy weapon' or an 'instrument of pressure'. Gazprom strictly observes all agreements. The company has not reduced or artificially restricted gas sales to the EU. Most of the sales are carried out within long-term contracts, in which the price of gas does not depend on current market fluctuations", Nechaev explained.

Work on Nord Stream 2 Pipeline.

© Photo : Nord Stream 2 / Paul Langrock

Nechaev added that, in accordance with free-market mechanisms, many foreign suppliers had recently chosen to redirect fuel from the European market to the Asian one, where prices were higher.

"Some companies, in hoping for better prices, did not take care of the timely replenishment of their own gas storage facilities. What does Russia have to do with it? Or are we also the ones to blame for the fact that gas production in some European countries is declining?", the ambassador said.

The diplomat remarked on the importance of gas for Germany in light of its energy transition plans, which envision giving up nuclear energy and coal. Nechaev added that Russia was prepared to supply Germany with gas on the best terms, which had been the reason behind Nord Stream 2, a pipeline set to bring gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.

Earlier this week, the candidate for Chancellor of Germany from the Green Party, Annalena Baerbock, said the German government should send a message to Moscow that "Russia must stick to its promises and supply enough gas through the existing pipelines like it used to." Baerbock has repeatedly spoken out against the recently finished Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and criticised the German government for agreeing to the project.

In September, Gazprom announced that Nord Stream 2 had been completed. The company is working to obtain the certification of its operator to start gas supplies and making sure the pipeline is ready to pump gas.

At the same time, gas prices in Europe skyrocketed due to insufficient stockpiles, reaching an all-time high - over $950 per 1,000 cubic metres last week.