Worries about the occurance of an energy war between Russia and the West have grown on Tuesday, as Ukraine conflict deepens.
This comes as the United States pushed its allies to ban oil imports from Russia to penalise it for invasion of Ukraine. The talks on humanitarian corridors have also made little progress.
In response, Russia has said that it could cut the gas supply to Europe. Russia currently supplies 40% of Europe’s gas. So, it could hit the continent badly and result in major blackouts.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Monday said, “We have every right to take a matching decision and impose an embargo on gas pumping through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.”
Earlier, Russia had also warned that it could stop the flow of gas from Russia to Germany through pipelines after Berlin decided last month to halt the opening of the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
If the United States and its allies banned imports of Russian oil, Novak also warned that oil prices could go more than double to $300 a barrel. It is a crucial source of revenue after the country was effectively frozen out of Western financial markets.