Putin sees European gas crisis as Russia’s golden opportunity

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a plenary session of the Russian Energy Week International Forum in Moscow, Russia October 13, 2021. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW: Fresh from crowing over Europe’s gas crisis, Russian president Vladimir Putin now sees a chance to capitalise on it.

Putin wants to press the European Union (EU) to rewrite some of the rules of its gas market after years of ignoring Moscow’s concerns, to tilt them away from spot-pricing toward long-term contracts favoured by Russia’s state run Gazprom, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.