President Vladimir Putin said Europe currently has no alternative to Russian gas supplies, and any attempt to wean off those deliveries will have massive, negative consequences for the continent’s economy.
“A reasonable replacement for Europe simply does not exist,” Putin said in a televised speech while opening a meeting on current challenges for Russia’s energy businesses. “There are simply no spare volumes in the global market, and deliveries from other countries, primarily the U.S., which may be sent to Europe, will cost the consumers many times more.