Austrian Chancellor after Gazprom's supply cut-off: We will not fall for Putin's blackmail
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has stressed that the country will not be left without natural gas during the heating season after Russian Gazprom stops supplying gas to the country.
Source: Austria's largest newspaper Kronen Zeitung; European Pravda reports
Details: Nehammer confirmed that the Austrian company OMV had received a warning from Gazprom about the suspension of gas supplies on Saturday morning.
The Austrian chancellor stated that this meant what they had been preparing for since the beginning of the war in Ukraine had happened. He also stressed that they were showing they would not succumb to Putin's blackmail.
The chancellor pointed out that the country has reliable gas supplies from other sources, and that gas storage facilities are 93% full, which is the annual demand of the whole of Austria. In addition, Vienna has already reported the situation to the European Commission.
Nehammer promised that no one would freeze in the winter and no apartment would be left cold.
The cessation of Russian gas supplies to Austria became known after OMV announced that it would stop making payments to Gazprom to reimburse the arbitration fee of EUR 230 million.
OMV had predicted such a scenario earlier and emphasised that it had diversified its gas supplies with non-Russian sources and additional capacity.
Meanwhile, talk of cutting off gas supplies from Russia to Austria led to a rise in natural gas prices in Europe.
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