Photo: The Canadian Press Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during a plenary session at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (TASS news agency host photo via AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened on Wednesday to completely cut off energy supplies to the West if it tried to curb Russian export prices. He also promised to continue Moscow’s military action in Ukraine until it achieves its goals. Speaking at an annual economic forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, Putin derided EU plans to cap Russian oil and gas prices as a “stupid” idea that would “only lead to higher prices”. “An attempt to limit prices by administrative means is just bluster, it’s pure nonsense,” Putin said. “If they try to implement this stupid decision, it won’t do anything good for those who make it.” He warned that such a move by the EU would represent a clear breach of existing conventions, saying Russia could respond by turning off the taps. “Will they make policy decisions by violating contracts?” he said. “In this case, we will simply stop supplies if it conflicts with our financial interests. We will not supply natural gas, oil, diesel or coal.” The Russian leader charged that Russia would easily find enough customers in Asia to shift its energy exports from Europe. “Demand is so high in world markets that we will have no problem selling it,” he said. Putin added that “those who are trying to impose something on us are not able to dictate their will today,” pointing to protests in the West against rising energy prices. Hours before it was due to resume gas deliveries to Germany on Friday after a three-day stoppage for repairs, state-controlled Russian gas giant Gazprom claimed it would not be able to do so until oil leaks at the turbines were fixed. German officials and engineers denied this claim. The Kremlin blamed the suspension of supplies on Western sanctions against Gazprom, accusing them of hindering normal maintenance of the pipeline’s equipment and signaling that supplies may not resume until restrictions are lifted. EU officials dismissed the claim as cover for a political power play. Putin rejected the EU’s argument that Russia was using energy as a weapon by cutting off gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany, charging that the sanctions make the pipeline’s turbine unsafe to operate. “They have been driven to an impasse with the sanctions,” he said. He reiterated that Moscow is ready to start pumping natural gas “from tomorrow” through Nord Stream 2, which has been put on hold by German authorities. Regarding Ukraine, Putin reiterated that the main objective behind sending troops to Ukraine was to protect civilians after eight years of fighting in the east of the country. “We were not the ones who initiated the military action, we are trying to put an end to it,” Putin said, repeating his long-standing argument that he ordered the military action to protect Moscow-backed separatist regions in Ukraine, which have fought Ukrainian forces in the conflict that erupted in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. “All our action is aimed at helping the people living in Donbas, it is our duty and we will fulfill it to the end,” he said. “In the long run, it will help strengthen our country both domestically and internationally.” Putin stressed that Russia would continue to protect its sovereignty against what he described as an effort by the US and its allies to maintain global dominance, saying “the world should not rely on the dictates of a country that considers itself her the representative of the almighty or even higher and based his policies on his perceived exclusivity’. The Russian leader acknowledged that the national economy will shrink by 2 percent this year, but said the economic and financial situation in Russia has stabilized, consumer price inflation has slowed and unemployment has remained low. “Russia has resisted the West’s economic, financial and technological aggression,” Putin said. “There has been a certain polarization in the world and inside the country, but I consider it positive. Anything unnecessary, harmful, anything that prevented us from moving forward will be discarded.” Commenting on several critical media outlets forced to shut down after the start of the military campaign in Ukraine following the passage of a new law criminalizing any reporting of military action that deviates from the official line, Putin said their journalists were happy to leave the country . “They have always worked against our country while they were here and now they are happy to leave,” he said. Russia’s leading independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, was among the outlets forced to close under official pressure. On Monday, a court in Moscow upheld the Russian authorities’ proposal to revoke the license. Dmitriy Muratov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and editor-in-chief of the paper, called Monday’s decision “political” and “has no legal basis whatsoever.” Putin tried to play down the Muratov prize, describing it as politically driven and, in a side jab, compared it to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Barack Obama while he was US president. “We had a business relationship with President Obama, but what did they give him the Nobel Prize for?” Putin said. “What did he do to protect the peace? I mean, those military operations in certain areas of the world that the president conducted.” Commenting on the European Union’s decision to make it harder for Russian citizens to enter the 27-nation bloc, Putin said Russia would not respond in kind and would continue to welcome visitors. “We are not going to stop contact, and those who do, are isolating themselves, not us,” he said.
