Putin warns of cuts in gas supplies to Europe

BRUSSELS: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said there could be a further reduction in gas supplies to Europe as the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which forms the single largest link for Russian gas deliveries to the continent, remained closed for annual maintenance.

The pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany on the bed of the Baltic Sea, has been under intense scrutiny since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year. While Nord Stream 1 has a daily capacity of about 167 million cubic meters of gas, Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom reduced that volume to just 67 million cubic meters per day last month.