#Putin accuses #Ukraine of disrupting #gas supplies to #Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the Russian energy giant "Gazprom" is ready to fulfill its commitments on gas exports.

Speaking to reporters from Tehran, Putin said that "Gazprom" is not responsible for reducing gas transportation capacity, accusing Ukraine of closing one of the lines crossing to Europe.

Putin was speaking at a press conference after a tripartite summit, which brought him together with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts, Ibrahim Raisi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Russian president also stipulated that all of the West lift its restrictions on the export of Russian grain, in exchange for Moscow to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain.
"We will facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain, but we proceed from the idea that all restrictions related to the air transportation of Russian grain exports will be lifted," Putin said.

Putin indicated that he discussed with Erdogan the issue of exporting Ukrainian grain, which is currently suspended due to the Russian attack, through safe sea lanes, in light of the fear of a global food crisis.

However, he has not yet given additional details about the progress of these talks.

On the other hand, Putin considered that the tripartite talks he held in Tehran on the Syrian conflict were "very useful."
Following the summit, Putin said, in a speech broadcast on Iranian and Russian television, that "the meeting was very useful (...) We discussed the basic points of our cooperation related to Syria," inviting his counterparts to visit Russia to hold a new summit in this regard.

He stressed, "In recent years, the terrorist threat has decreased thanks to our joint efforts," explaining that the upcoming consultations within the framework of the "Astana Peace Process" aimed at ending the Syrian conflict, which has been ongoing since 2011, should be held before the end of the year.