CNN —
Russia is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, which was previously halted for political reasons, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told the Russian state news agency TASS on Sunday.
“The European market remains relevant as gas shortages persist and we have every opportunity to resume deliveries. For example, the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which was halted for political reasons, remains unused,” Novak said.
Demand for gas from Europe is increasing, Novak said, according to TASS.
“Today we can confidently say that there is a demand for our gas. We therefore continue to regard Europe as a potential sales market for our products. It is clear that a large-scale campaign was launched against us, which ended with acts of sabotage against Nord Stream,” he said.
Russia has been locked in an energy confrontation with Europe since invading Ukraine in February.
In May, just 44 hours after Ukraine reduced the flow of natural gas through its territory to Europe, blaming interference by Russian troops, Gazprom halted supplies through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which runs through Poland, halting gas supplies to a distributor in Germany. According to the state news agency RIA Novosti, Gazprom was forced to halt deliveries due to sanctions imposed on its parent company EuRoPol GAZ.
In December, West-East gas supplies from Germany to Poland were also temporarily halted, “dropped to zero,” reports TASS.