Putin tells Moscow gas summit the EU is falling into its own 'pit' by dropping Russian gas; Iran's Pezeshkian says US sanctions threaten energy markets

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Moscow on Tuesday 27 October, attended by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the leaders or ministers of other gas-producing countries, according to the Kremlin. The summit adopted a “Moscow Declaration”.

What Putin said about Europe

Putin said that “any attempts to push Russia out of the global gas market” lead to “a sharp rise in prices to prohibitive levels for consumers abroad”, and that this was “precisely what we are seeing in Europe today”, where the decision to abandon Russian energy and end long-term contracts was “causing damage to the region’s own industry and social sector”. He added: “We have a saying in Russia: ‘Be careful how deep you dig a pit, you might be the one to fall in it.’ And this is what is happening in the European Union today.”

He said Russian pipelines to Europe “were blown up” in “acts of terrorism”, and said Russia was “exploring the possibility of collaboration with American partners” in the Arctic. He proposed wider consultations within the forum on responding to gas market crises.

Iran’s message on the US

Pezeshkian told the summit that US “unilateral sanctions” and military interventions in the Gulf posed a serious threat to energy market stability, and urged major energy suppliers to condemn them, his office said. He said US and Israeli attacks on Iran had damaged Iranian energy facilities and endangered global energy security. Pezeshkian also met the Emir of Qatar on the sidelines, Anadolu Agency reported.

Background

The GECF’s members account for about 70 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves and about 40 percent of exports, Putin said.