Putin Threatens to Cut Energy Supplies to Europe

(MENAFN) Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Wednesday he would direct his government to evaluate a full suspension of energy exports to Europe, signalling a potential permanent redirection of supplies toward Asian markets in what he framed as a calculated economic pivot rather than a political manoeuvre.

Putin made the remarks during a sit-down interview with a Russian state broadcaster in Moscow, citing Europe's own accelerating timeline to ban Russian energy as justification for moving first.

"They are still, as they just said, planning to introduce restrictions on the purchase of Russian gas, including liquefied natural gas, in a month, with the last day being the 24th, starting on the 25th. And in a year, in 2027, further restrictions up to a complete ban," he said.

With European demand set to vanish, Putin argued that emerging markets now offer Russia a more lucrative alternative.

"But now, other markets are opening up, and perhaps it would be more advantageous for us to stop supplies to the European market right now, to move to those markets that are opening up and establish ourselves there," he added.

The Kremlin chief was careful to distance the proposal from geopolitical motivation, insisting there was "no political subtext" behind the suggestion.

"This is, in this case, so to speak, thinking out loud. I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies," he said.

Despite the escalating rhetoric, Putin maintained that Russia has consistently honoured its energy commitments, describing the country as "a reliable supplier of energy resources for all our partners, including, by the way, for European ones." He singled out Hungary and Slovakia as partners Moscow intends to keep supplying.

"And we will continue to work precisely in this mode with those partners who are themselves our reliable counterparties—with such countries in Eastern Europe, for example, as Slovakia and Hungary," he said.

Putin squarely attributed the ongoing European energy crisis to self-inflicted wounds, blaming "the erroneous policy of the European authorities in the energy sector, their abuse of the 'green' agenda," alongside anti-Russia sanctions. He pointed out that Russian supply cuts were not responsible for soaring prices — global demand dynamics were.

"Why? Because of the overall situation on world markets, including oil markets, and in this case gas markets. Because clients have appeared who are ready to purchase the same natural gas at higher prices, in this case due to the events in the Middle East, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and so on," he said, referencing the ongoing US-Israel offensive on Iran.

He further warned that American energy companies would inevitably chase those higher-paying buyers, abandoning European clients in the process.

Separately, Putin condemned this week's strike on a Russian liquefied natural gas tanker near Malta's territorial waters as "a terrorist" act, stating such attacks directly fuel price volatility. Russia's Transport Ministry confirmed the vessel was hit Wednesday, attributing the assault to unmanned Ukrainian drone boats.

Putin turned his fire on Kyiv, accusing the Ukrainian government of undermining its own financial lifeline.

"It turns out that the Kyiv regime is actually biting the hand that feeds it, namely the hand of the EU. The EU provides endless assistance to the Kyiv regime—with weapons and money. And the Kyiv regime creates one problem after another for the EU," he argued.

He then escalated further, alleging that Kyiv — backed by unnamed Western intelligence services — is plotting to destroy the Blue Stream and TurkStream pipelines. Putin said Turkish authorities had already been briefed on the threat.

"We have already informed our Turkish friends about this issue. We will see what happens in this area, but this is a very dangerous game, especially today," he said.

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