“If Russia wants to cut off gas supplies, it will not wait until autumn or winter, it will not allow us to replenish our stocks in the summer,” EU foreign policy spokesman Josep Borrell said, noting that “he will not allow us to replenish our stocks in during the summer.” He will do it as soon as possible so as not to allow us to have supplies in the winter that will help us continue,” he said, noting that “Moscow’s decision depends on many factors, including the development of the war in Ukraine.”

However, Borrell said in an interview with the Spanish television channel TVA that “it is unlikely that tomorrow there will be a sharp reduction in gas supplies, even if Moscow has already said that gas supplies will be lower than expected”, and explained that “Russia wants to sell its gas and is looking for buyers instead of the European Union because he knows that over time we will do without Russian gas at all.” He pointed out that “Moscow is in a hurry to build other gas pipelines, connecting them with other customers,” adding that “the operation of these gas pipelines will take time.”

Russia’s Gazprom has drastically cut gas supplies to Europe in recent weeks, especially through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which was running at only 20 percent capacity on Wednesday, justifying its transition with necessary repairs.

The Europeans dismiss the technical reasons for the supply cuts, accusing Moscow of using the gas as an economic and political weapon in the midst of an economic crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

To avoid gas shortages this winter, the 27 member states of the European Union on Tuesday agreed to a plan that says each country will do “everything possible” to reduce gas consumption by at least 15 percent by March 2023 compared to the previous year. on average over the past five years over the same period.

Until last year, Russian gas accounted for about 40 percent of EU imports.