The supplies of gas from Russia to Europe they arrive in an increasingly irregular manner and the price of the raw material continues to rise. Friday Gazprom has made it known that, for the umpteenth time in recent weeks, it will be necessary stop deliveries through the pipeline Nord Stream 1. The inconvenience will last three days, from the August 31 to the September 2, and officially, as always, it's due to maintenance problems, this time to the only turbine left in operation. Many, however, are convinced that it is a political strategy, a energy blackmail aimed at manipulating the market to keep European countries, customers and adversaries at the same time, under pressure.
The soaring price of gas
In fact, at least in financial terms, the manipulation works: yesterday, after the announcement of the Russian energy giant, the price of gas shot up 257 euros per MWh, a new record for the TTF market in Amsterdam, the reference market for European gas. Not to mention the new interruption, to date North Stream 1, which via the Baltic Sea transports Russian gas directly to Western Europe via Germany, is only working at 20% of capacity.
Macron hears Putin: "UN inspection at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant"
Meanwhile, surprisingly, the French president Emmanuel Macron He heard the Russian number one on the phone Vladimir Putin and it seems that the interview has unlocked the situation on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The Elysee let know that Moscow accepts visit by IAEA experts , but refuses to leave the perimeter of the plant, rejecting calls to demilitarize the plant. According to the Russian news agency Tass, Putin has warned that the bombing of the plant - which the Russians blame on Kiev - poses the risk of a "large-scale catastrophe".
Yesterday, the Defense Ministry in Moscow specified that the Russian military in Europe's largest nuclear power plant is "on guard duty" and that the plant "does not have any weapons, especially heavy ones".
Macron and Putin will talk again in the coming days to agree on the details of the inspection, which could take place in early September.
