German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday blamed Russia for cutting off pipeline gas supplies to Europe and the resulting spike in energy prices, with Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev hitting back at the claim.
"Russia — yes, Russia has cut off the energy supply to Europe... It was the Russian president who halted gas deliveries through a functioning pipeline!" Scholz said at a conference of his Social Democratic Party.
The drop in supplies from Russia halved Germany's gas imports and slashed some 120 billion cubic meters from Europe's total gas imports, affecting energy prices, he said.
The German government took drastic measures to remedy the situation by buying more gas from Norway and building liquefied natural gas terminals in the country's north, Scholz said.
Medvedev, in turn, said on social media it was Europe that had rejected Russia's gas supplies, accusing the German leader of "lying through his teeth."
In September 2022, the Nord Stream pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to the EU, were hit by explosions, which Moscow called an act of terrorism. Several European probes into the attacks have not reported any results.