The Russian company, "Gazprom", announced today, Friday, the closure of the "Nord Stream 1" pipeline, which transports gas to Europe, for an indefinite period.
The state-run Russian energy company indicated in a social media post that it needed urgent maintenance.
It also said it had identified "malfunctions" in the main turbine along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which transports natural gas from western Russia to Germany.
It further stated that "the pipeline will not operate if the failure is not terminated."
Commenting on this, the German Economy Ministry stated: "We have no comment on Gazprom's announcement, and we now know that Moscow has no credibility," adding, "We have gas stocks that exceed 80 percent."
And on Wednesday, "Gazprom" completely stopped the flow of gas through "Nord Stream 1", in line with an earlier announcement.
Today's announcement comes in the wake of the Group of Seven ministers agreeing to adopt a plan aimed at capping Russian oil prices "urgently".
Russia had threatened to completely halt gas supplies to Europe, if it went ahead with its plan to cap oil prices.
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- Agencies