Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin called the suggestion Europe should impose gas price caps “stupid.”
He said the plan would only lead to higher prices, in a speech to the Eastern Economic Forum.
Putin also mocked Western sanctions, saying Russia has no problems selling its energy globally.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ripped into Europe’s plans to impose a price cap on Russian natural gas as Western nations try to get a grip on soaring energy costs.
The European Commission’s energy agency recently urged EU member countries to bring in “emergency wholesale price cap” measures to help households and businesses struggling to pay their energy bills. The cap would set a limit on what local buyers can pay wholesale for Russian gas imports.
Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Putin called this “stupid,” adding it would lead to higher prices, per Reuters.
European natural gas prices have risen steeply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, as the country cut off gas flows to the continent in response to Western sanctions imposed on them.
On the day Russia’s Gazprom shut down gas flows via its key Nord Steam 1 pipeline to Europe, prices surged by 36%.
Dutch TTF futures, Europe’s benchmark natural gas price, were last down 3% to $232.45 as governments step up their efforts to reduce costs through price caps.
European natural gas prices have surged more than 300% this year, reaching a record high above $340 per megawatt hour in August.
In his speech, Putin said the country has “no problems” selling its extensive energy resources around the world, mocking the intended effect of sanctions and boycotts.
Selling its discounted oil and gas to countries like India and China has put Russia on track to generate $285 billion in revenue this year, Bloomberg Economics has forecast.