Biden to Merkel: Russia must stop manipulating gas flows for political ends

The White House said Saturday that the US President and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed, during their meeting in Rome, efforts to prevent Russia from manipulating the flow of natural gas for political purposes, and European lawmakers had accused Moscow of not doing enough to increase gas supplies to Europe.

US President Joe Biden met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and discussed efforts to prevent Russia from manipulating the flow of natural gas for political ends, the White House said on Saturday.

The White House added that Biden, who is in Rome for a meeting of G20 leaders, stressed the importance of "ensuring that Russia is not able to manipulate natural gas flows for harmful political purposes." He said Biden and Merkel also discussed the situation in Afghanistan.

Data earlier on Saturday from a German pipeline operator showed that Russian natural gas flows to Europe had stopped in part of the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which transports gas to Germany via Poland.

Russia sends gas to Western Europe in several different ways, including the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which has an annual capacity of 33 billion cubic meters.

Russia's Gazprom said European customers' requests for natural gas were met on Saturday.

Russian gas export flows are closely monitored at a time when gas prices are rising in Europe as the global economy recovers from the Corona pandemic, while stocks remain low.

The International Energy Agency and some European lawmakers accused Gazprom of not doing enough to increase its supply of natural gas to Europe.

The Russian company says it has fulfilled its contractual obligations