Attacked By US And Allied Sanctions, President Putin Reaffirms Russia's Commitment To Continue Oil And Gas Delivery To Europe

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Russia's commitment to continue shipping oil and gas to Europe, amid sanctions from the United States and its allied countries.

"We will fulfill all our obligations in the area of energy supply. We will provide everything we have to supply," President Putin said at a government meeting, according to the Interfax news agency, describing Europe as Russia's main energy customer.

President Putin also appeared to put forward the rationale for foreign investment in Russia at a ministerial-level meeting. Shutting yourself off from anyone is not the answer, he says.

"We are open to cooperating with all our foreign partners who want it," he said, adding that the rights of foreign investors in Russia who do not want to leave the country need reliable protection.

Earlier, President Putin threatened to cut Germany's natural gas supplies for the first time earlier this week, as the scale and severity of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine became clear.

Separately, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday: "We have the full right to make a 'mirror' decision and impose an embargo on gas transit through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which is operating at a maximum capacity of 100% today."

To note, Russia is the single largest oil supplier in Europe, accounting for about 30 percent of Europe's annual energy consumption of 500 million tons.