Putin takes swipe at Giorgia Meloni by cutting off gas to Italy

Putin takes his first swipe at Giorgia Meloni by completely cutting off gas supplies to Italy just days after the right-wing leader backed Ukraine

• Italy reported that Russia’s Gazprom has suspended its gas supply until Monday
• The gas giant said that the delay is due to a transport issue in Austria
• However it follows Italy’s new leader Giorgia Meloni publicly criticising Putin

Russia’s Gazprom suspended gas deliveries to Italy just days after new right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni publicly backed Ukraine.

The Italian energy giant Eni said they were informed that a transport problem in Austria meant the Russian gas supplier would not able to delivery any gas until at least Monday.

Giorgia Meloni, who will become Italy’s new prime minister, previously said Putin ‘threatens the security of the entire European continent’ and that his annexation of four Ukrainian regions has ‘no legal and political value’. 

Putin has been at loggerheads with European countries over the supply of natural gas and has been accused of using the flow of gas needed for energy in the region as an economic weapon.

Most of Russian gas delivered to Italy passes via Ukraine through the Trans Austria Gas Pipeline (TAG), to Tarvisio in northern Italy on the border with Austria.

Gazprom later in the day said in a statement that the transportation of Russian gas through Austria had been suspended ‘due to the refusal of the Austrian operator to confirm the transport nominations’.

‘The reason is related to the regulatory changes that took place in Austria at the end of September,’ it added.

Tensions reached new highs this week after leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines linking Russia and Germany spewed tonnes of methane into the Baltic Sea.

The Danish Energy Agency now says one of two ruptured natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea appears to have stopped leaking natural gas.

Gazprom has halted gas supplies to Italy just days after new right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni backed Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of using the flow of gas into Europe as an economic weapon

The Italian energy giant Eni said they were informed by Gazprom that a transport problem in Austria meant they would not able to delivery any gas until at least Monday

Blasts along the Nord Stream pipelines have resulted in thousands of tons of natural gas leaking into the Baltic Sea

In Austria, regulatory authority E-Control said the new rules, which entered into force on Saturday, had been ‘known to all market actors for months’.

It said it expected ‘all to conform and take the necessary measures to fulfil their obligations’.

The problems were linked to ‘contractual details’ linked to the transit of gas towards Italy, it said on Twitter.

Before the war in Ukraine, Italy imported 95 per cent of the gas it consumes – about 45 per cent of which came from Russia.

Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi has signed new deals with other gas producers to reduce Italy’s reliance on Russia, lowered to 25 percent as of June, while accelerating a shift towards renewable energies.

Denmark and Sweden said of the leak (pictured) that ‘the possible impact on maritime life in the Baltic Sea is of concern, and the climate effect would likely be very substantial’

The Nord 2 gas pipeline now appears to have stopped leaking into the sea, the Danish Energy Agency said on Twitter that it had been informed by the company operating the pipeline that pressure appears to have stabilized.

‘This indicates that the leaking of gas in this pipeline has ceased,’ the Danish Energy Agency said.

Undersea blasts that damaged the Nord Stream I and 2 pipelines this week have led to huge methane leaks. Nordic investigators said the blasts have involved several hundred pounds of explosives.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of sabotaging the Russia-built pipelines, a charge vehemently denied by the United States and its allies.

Speaking Friday in Moscow, Putin claimed that ‘Anglo-Saxons’ in the West have turned from imposing sanctions on Russia to ‘terror attacks,’ sabotaging the pipelines in what he described as an attempt to ‘destroy the European energy infrastructure.’

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden dismissed Putin’s pipeline claims as outlandish.

‘It was a deliberate act of sabotage. And now the Russians are pumping out disinformation and lies. We will work with our allies to get to the bottom (of) precisely what happened,’ Biden promised. ‘Just don’t listen to what Putin’s saying. What he’s saying we know is not true.’

The attacks on the pipelines have prompted energy companies and European governments to beef up security around energy infrastructure.

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