The head of the State Council of Italy Frattini called gas an obstacle to the imposition of sanctions against Russia
Franco Frattini. Photo: Maxim Blinov / RIA Novosti
President of the State Council of Italy Franco Frattini explained the difficulty of imposing sanctions against Moscow. He told RIA Novosti about this.
“When there is a need for Russian gas, it is difficult to impose sanctions. It's all about the diplomatic balance,” the European politician called the obstacle.
Frattini noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin should, in addition to Italy, give the whole of Europe full guarantees for energy supplies. “That is, without making a distinction between friends and non-friends. It would be a far-sighted, leadership, strategic gesture that would be highly appreciated in the EU,” he said.
Quotes TTF1! by Trading View
On February 14, Gazprom indicated that less than 10 percent of the gas pumped in the summer remained in European underground gas storage facilities (UGS). The overall occupancy level of UGS facilities in Europe is less than 34 percent. As of February 12, the volume of gas in underground storage facilities is 22.9 percent (by 9.9 billion cubic meters) lower than last year's level. Underground storage facilities in Germany and France are already more than two-thirds empty.
Meanwhile, gas prices in Europe soared. At the opening of trading on February 14, the cost rose by 13.7 percent, above a thousand dollars per thousand cubic meters. This is happening against the backdrop of numerous reports of an allegedly imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine and calls from a number of countries for their citizens to leave the republic.
