Putin threatens to cut Russian gas to Europe unless EU reverses ban, leveraging Iran war
Russian President Vladimir Putin floated the idea of cutting off gas supplies to Europe, telling reporters on March 4 that a gas shortage triggered by the war in Iran could give Moscow other export opportunities.
Putin's comments come after the European Union on Jan. 26 approved a sweeping ban on Russian gas imports. The plan calls for a phase-out of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas, leading to a potential full cessation by the end of 2027.
Speaking to Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin on March 4, Putin suggested halting gas exports before Europe implements the ban.
"They... plan to introduce restrictions on the purchase of Russian gas, including liquefied gas, in a month... and further restrictions, up to a complete ban, in a year, in 2027," he said.
"And now other markets are opening up. And it might be more profitable for us to stop supplies to the European market right now. To move to those markets that are opening up and gain a foothold there."
Putin referred directly to the escalating U.S.-Iran war, which has plunged the Middle East into a new wave of violence and caused oil and gas prices to surge worldwide.
"Customers have emerged who are willing to buy the same natural gas at higher prices, in this case due to events in the Middle East, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and so on," he said. "This is natural; there's nothing here, there's no political agenda — it is just business."
While Putin claimed to be merely "thinking out loud" and lacking any political agenda, he tied the Kremlin's future decision on the matter to Europe's "misguided policies," indicating pressure on the EU to reverse its ban.
"I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies," he said.
Moscow supplied Europe with almost half of its gas consumption up until 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its share plummeted to less than one-fifth by 2023, but rose again by 18% in 2024, largely thanks to increases in Russian LNG supplies. The EU then developed new regulations over the course of 2025 to curb Russian gas purchases.
Russia accounted for only 6% of Europe's pipeline gas imports in 2025. Norway, the U.S., and Algeria have supplanted Russia's place in the European gas market.
"Russia has always been and remains a reliable energy supplier to all our partners, including, incidentally, European ones," Putin said. "And we will continue to work in this manner with those partners who are themselves reliable partners — for example, those in Eastern Europe, such as Slovakia and Hungary."
