Putin Sees European Gas Crisis as Russia’s Golden Chance

Russia wants long-term contracts linked again to oil prices
Kremlin also pushing for quick approval of Nord Stream 2 link

WATCH: Putin says claims that Russia is using energy as a weapon are “politically-motivated blather.”Source: Bloomberg)

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By Irina Reznik and Henry Meyer

October 13, 2021 at 4:00 AM UTC

Updated on

October 13, 2021 at 11:59 AM UTC

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Fresh from crowing over Europe’s gas crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin now sees a chance to capitalize on it.

Putin wants to press the European Union to rewrite some of the rules of its gas market after years of ignoring Moscow’s concerns, to tilt them away from spot-pricing toward long-term contracts favored by Russia’s state run Gazprom, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Russia’s also seeking rapid certification of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany to boost gas deliveries, they said.