Alexei Miller, the head of Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM), on Thursday threatened sanctions against Ukraine's Naftogaz amid legal rows, saying the Kyiv-based energy firm was not "constructive" in overseeing Russian gas transit to Europe.
He also said that it was "senseless" for Gazprom to take part in international legal cases initiated by Naftogaz.
"Far-fetched attempts by Naftogaz to continue this trial speak of its non-constructive attitude towards the organization of the transit of Russian gas to Europe and, in general, a hostile attitude towards the Russian Federation," Miller said in a rare statement on state-run Rossiya-24 TV station.
Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine have been reduced to a trickle in the past year due to a severe political crisis, triggered by Moscow's decision to sent thousands of troops into Ukraine last year.
Russia's piped gas exports to Europe stood at around 12.1 billion cubic metres (bcm) for the first half of the year. They totalled 62 bcm for the whole of 2022, when total exports almost halved from the previous year.
"Naftogaz has already filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against Russia in the U.S. courts. If such dishonest actions of Naftogaz continue, it cannot be ruled out that this could lead to the imposition of sanctions by the Russian Federation, then any relations between Russian companies and Naftogaz will simply be impossible," Miller said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on a possible stoppage of Russian gas supplies to Europe, according to RIA Novosti news agency.
