Kremlin says Lukashenko did not consult it on threat to cut Russian gas supplies

The Kremlin said on Friday that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko had not consulted Moscow before raising the possibility of cutting natural gas flows to Europe and that Russia was a reliable exporter that fulfilled its obligations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Moscow fulfilled its contractual obligations when it came to supplying European consumers with gas.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko had not consulted Moscow before raising the possibility of cutting natural gas flows to Europe and that Russia was a reliable exporter that fulfilled its obligations. Lukashenko threatened on Thursday to retaliate against any new European Union sanctions over a migrant standoff on the Belarus-EU border, including by shutting down the transit of natural gas and goods via Belarus.

Russia is a major exporter of natural gas to Europe via Belarus and the Kremlin made it clear it did not want to see any disruption in supplies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Moscow fulfilled its contractual obligations when it came to supplying European consumers with gas.

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