Russia denies information about stopping gas supplies to Finland

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia’s state-owned energy group Gazprom is still a reliable gas supplier and is supplying gas to many customers, including member states of the Organization. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He also said that Gazprom has no plans to stop supplying gas to Finland after May 13.

Earlier, on May 12, Iltalehti newspaper, citing unnamed sources, reported that Finnish politicians had received information that Russia might stop supplying gas to the country on May 13. Gazprom has not yet commented on this information.

Last week, the Finnish government said it was prepared for the possibility that Russia would stop shipping gas to the country after Helsinki rejected Moscow’s request to pay for gas contracts in rubles.

On the same day, May 13, Ukraine warned of the risk of leading to a lack of unity within the European Union (EU) if the next package of EU sanctions against Russia does not include an oil embargo. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the new package of sanctions that did not include an oil embargo would show that unity within the EU was broken. This is an important moment for the EU, he said, and urged Brussels to pass the embargo.

The EU has still not been able to agree on an agreement regarding the Russian oil embargo because some countries, including Hungary, are still hesitant.

About 65% of Hungary’s oil imports are supplied by Russia. Hungarian President Viktor Orban said that the new EU sanctions package would shake the country’s economy. The EU has proposed to exempt Hungary from the Russian oil embargo until the end of 2023. However, Budapest wants the exemption for five years to give more time to reduce its dependence on Russian oil.