Russia today defended itself from criticism in the European Union (EU) for cutting Russian gas through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, stating that this measure has its origin in sanctions and actions Western countries, while warning that hydrocarbon prices could rise even more.

In the “Moscow.Kremlin.Putin” program on the Rossia-1 public television channel, both the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, in charge of energy issues, assured that the indefinite suspension of gas transit by the Nord Stream is not the fault of Gazprom (MCX: GAZP ).

The Russian gas consortium announced on Friday that it was completely suspending the flow of gas to Europe through Germany due to an oil leak found in a turbine of the only compressor station still in operation, something that the EU has called a “fallacy” and as further proof that Russia is not a reliable supplier.

“Gazprom has earned its reputation as a reliable guarantor of energy security and reliable supplier for many decades. And we are convinced that Gazprom has not taken a single step that shakes this reputation,” Peskov said.

“If the Europeans make an absolutely absurd decision according to which they refuse to repair their equipment, or rather, the equipment that belongs to Gazprom, but which, according to the contract, they must repair, this is not Gazprom’s fault, it is the fault of the politicians who made the decision on the sanctions,” he said.

Peskov emphasized that “it is these unfortunate politicians who are now forcing their citizens to die of strokes when they see electricity bills.” “And now, when it gets colder, the situation will get even worse,” he predicted.

Novak expressed himself in similar terms, stating that “all the conditions of the repair contract have been completely violated, the conditions of transport of this equipment have been violated,” he said.

“Both Canada and the European Union have imposed sanctions on the relevant team, so they must align (their actions) with the terms of the contract for this team to really continue to function,” he said.

One of the turbines repaired by Siemens at its facilities in Canada was able to be returned to Germany despite the sanctions, but from there it has not yet reached Russia because Moscow requires legal guarantees that the device is not under restrictions.

Novak, like Peskov, did not rule out more increases in the price of gas in Europe due to the “myopic” policies of the EU that lead to the “collapse” of the energy market in the Old Continent, according to his opinion.

“Myopic policy leads to the fact that we are seeing a collapse in Europe’s energy markets. And this is not the limit, because we are still in the warm season, we still have winter ahead of us, and there are many unpredictable things,” he warned.

Asked if there could be a further increase in gas prices, Novak replied: “In my opinion, it is possible.”

The price of gas for delivery in October in the Dutch TFF market closed on Friday with 212 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), 1.24% less than the previous day, but this cost was the one established before the announcement was known. of Gazprom that it cuts transit to Europe indefinitely.

For his part, the former president of Russia and deputy head of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, also referred to statements by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia is no longer a reliable energy supplier.

In his Telegram account, he reminded him that Germany is “an unfriendly country, it has imposed sanctions against the entire Russian economy and its citizens and supplies Ukraine with lethal weapons directed against our Armed Forces.”

“And you are surprised that the Germans have some minor problems with gas!” he said.