Putin and Schroeder meeting
Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally met with former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Moscow. They discussed energy security.
“Of course, the former prime minister, probably like all thinking and understanding people and experts in Europe, is very, very worried about the real state of affairs and is worried about the energy crisis that is igniting in Europe,” said Peskov.
According to him, Schroeder was worried about “not at all bright prospects” in the energy sector and asked Putin to explain the Russian side’s vision of the situation. A Kremlin spokesman said the Russian leader told Schroeder what paperwork was missing to return the repaired Nord Stream turbine to Gazprom.
Gazprom, as a supplier, as the owner of this turbine, is only obliged to obtain documents stating that it is not a sanctioned product, a sanctioned product, a non-sanctioned product. and technical documents. “So far these documents are not available as far as we know,” Peskov said.
At the same time, he emphasized that the former chancellor asked if it was possible to use Nord Stream 2 in a crisis situation. According to Peskov, Putin replied “technologically possible”. If the natural gas pipeline is commissioned, Russia will be able to supply 27 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe.
“Even if we now imagine that we will open Nord Stream 2, by the end of the year, we will be able to pump 27 billion cubic meters in a year. Not more. Half of it has already gone to our domestic consumption,” he said.
At the same time, as the Kremlin spokesman noted, the British subsidiary of Siemens is in no hurry to fix the problem with the second broken turbine on Nord Stream 1 – the company’s repairmen “are not coming and are in no hurry to fix it. ” Peskov told Schroeder of the president of the Russian Federation’ He added that he said that all the restrictions and sanctions against Turkey caused this tense situation.
Putin also explained to the former German Chancellor that Russian gas supplies to Europe have fallen multiple times due to European sanctions and Ukraine stopping transit through a branch “under a weak pretext”. At the same time, the Kremlin representative assured that Russia fulfilled its obligations to pay funds for gas transit to Kiev.
The press secretary of the Russian president also questioned whether Canada is interested in repairing the turbines of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. According to him, Canadians want to supply gas to Europe.
Pelosi in Taiwan
Peskov said that the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was a provocation.
“Of course, it is impossible to underestimate the tension created by this visit in the region. This is the purest provocation. “This is not a directed line to support temporary freedom and democracy, this is pure provocation and we need to name such steps by their proper names here,” he said.
According to him, it is impossible to achieve any foreign policy goals in this way. Beijing added that it is aware of Russia’s support for the one-China policy.
“We support China’s sovereignty and support China’s thoughtful, balanced steps to preserve and strengthen its sovereignty,” the Kremlin spokesperson said.
Increase in coronavirus cases
More than 14.6 thousand new cases of coronavirus were detected in Russia last day, 43 people died, according to the operation center to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Peskov believes that, against the background of an increase in the incidence, it is impossible to exclude the introduction of additional measures to combat COVID-19, in particular, the return of mandatory vaccination for certain categories of citizens.
“Of course, this situation is monitored daily at the government level, and the president, of course, receives daily reports from the government, the relevant departments, the Ministry of Health, the department (head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna) Popova. . Here the president is not without knowledge and cannot possess it. But if necessary, if the dynamics increase exponentially, this of course cannot be ignored,” he said.
He added that the Kremlin has not lifted the increased epidemiological security measures for the coronavirus.
“The rationale for this is justified by the fact that we are now seeing an increase in the number of reinfected. “These measures will continue,” he said.