President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to resume gas supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline that was heavily damaged by undersea explosions in 2022, and the onus was on Berlin to make up its mind.
Putin told journalists in St. Petersburg that one of the two lines of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was intact and could start pumping gas "tomorrow."
"I'm not joking - just press a button and the gas starts flowing. But for that, a decision from the government (of Germany) is needed," he said.
Putin said, however, that Nord Stream was under U.S. sanctions and Germany would need to reach an agreement on removing these.
He said Russia could supply up to 28 billion cubic meters a year, "but we just need a clear answer from our German partners to Gazprom — whether they'll take it or not. Because otherwise we'll be placing it on other markets, selling it to other partners." Gazprom is the Russian company that produces and sells the gas.
Putin was speaking to foreign news agencies at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, where a senior member of Germany's far-right AfD party met Russian officials on Wednesday and called for a reopening of Nord Stream.
Germany has struggled to emerge from the energy shock caused by the shutdown of the pipelines, which were crippled by explosions in September 2022 that left Berlin scrambling to find alternative supplies.
Russia has accused Ukraine of being behind the attack, though Kyiv has repeatedly denied involvement.
(Reuters - Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Dmitry Antonov and Anastasia Lyrchikova; writing by Mark Trevelyan; editing by Rod Nickel)