Kremlin: Only Sanctions Prevent Nord Stream Gas Pipeline from Working

View towards Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the Baltic Sea Pipeline Link in the industrial area of Lubmin, Germany, August 30, 2022. (Reuters)
View towards Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the Baltic Sea Pipeline Link in the industrial area of Lubmin, Germany, August 30, 2022. (Reuters)
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Kremlin: Only Sanctions Prevent Nord Stream Gas Pipeline from Working

View towards Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the Baltic Sea Pipeline Link in the industrial area of Lubmin, Germany, August 30, 2022. (Reuters)
View towards Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the Baltic Sea Pipeline Link in the industrial area of Lubmin, Germany, August 30, 2022. (Reuters)

Nothing stands on the way of Russian gas exports to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline apart from technological problems caused by Western sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, a day before another planned maintenance shutdown.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has announced it will shut the pipeline for three days from Wednesday to undertake maintenance of a single pumping unit at the Portovaya compressor station.

Peskov was asked if there are guarantees that Gazprom will restart gas flows via Nord Stream 1 after the maintenance.

"There are guarantees that, apart from technological problems caused by sanctions, nothing hinders the supplies," he replied.

Natural gas prices have soared in Europe to all-time highs amid tight supplies from Russia. It has been pumping gas via Nord Stream 1 at only 20% of capacity. citing problems with equipment.

The European Union rejects Moscow's version that turbine problems and sanctions are to blame. France accused Moscow on Tuesday of using energy supply as "a weapon of war" as Gazprom reduced deliveries to one of its main utilities, Engie, and prepared to halt flows through Nord Stream 1.

Peskov told reporters: "European countries, Canada, the US, Great Britain imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation, which do not allow carrying out normal maintenance and repair work, and also do not allow legal registration of the return of components and assemblies to their places of operation."

He added: "There are no other obstacles for Russia to fulfil its obligations."

The front-month gas contract in Europe was down 3% at 259 euros/MWh on Tuesday morning, off all-time highs hit last week but more than five times levels seen a year ago.



South Korea Police Say Rite at Family Grave Led to Deadly Wildfire

29 March 2025, South Korea, Andong: A firefighting helicopter tries to extinguish a wildfire in Andong, in Gyeongsang Province, southeastern South Korea. Photo: -/yonhap/dpa
29 March 2025, South Korea, Andong: A firefighting helicopter tries to extinguish a wildfire in Andong, in Gyeongsang Province, southeastern South Korea. Photo: -/yonhap/dpa
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South Korea Police Say Rite at Family Grave Led to Deadly Wildfire

29 March 2025, South Korea, Andong: A firefighting helicopter tries to extinguish a wildfire in Andong, in Gyeongsang Province, southeastern South Korea. Photo: -/yonhap/dpa
29 March 2025, South Korea, Andong: A firefighting helicopter tries to extinguish a wildfire in Andong, in Gyeongsang Province, southeastern South Korea. Photo: -/yonhap/dpa

South Korean police said on Sunday they booked a man suspected of starting what grew into the country's largest wildfire, killing at least 26 people and razing thousands of buildings including historic temples.
Authorities believe the man, who is in his 50s, began the fire in southeastern Uiseong County when he performed an ancestral rite by a family grave on March 22, an official from Gyeongbuk Provincial Police said.
"We are in the process of verifying evidence," the official added.
In South Korea's legal system, booking involves registering a suspect but may not coincide immediately with arrest or charges.
According to Reuters, Yonhap news agency said the man had denied the allegations.
The fire burned about 48,000 hectares (119,000 acres), destroyed an estimated 4,000 structures, and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate. By Friday the blaze was largely contained although firefighters were still battling small hotspots that had sprung up on Saturday.
The Uiseong fire as well as separate blazes across the country last week left at least 30 people dead and sparked calls for national reforms to better tackle such disasters, which experts say are being exacerbated by climate change.
The forest service said on Sunday another wildfire broke out in a southern area near Suncheonsi, and authorities had deployed 23 firetrucks, four helicopters and 123 firefighters.