Facing possible US sanctions on European companies building Nord Stream 2, President Putin said Thursday

Facing possible US sanctions on European companies building Nord Stream 2, President Putin said Thursday that “given the volumes currently shipped to European customers, [Russian gas] transit via Ukraine remains feasible.” He said that European demand for Russian gas will not be met by the two Nord Stream and Turkstream pipelines. He said Gazprom managers will discuss “cooperation” next week in Brussels. Speaking in Belgrade, he added: “By the way, this includes transit via Ukraine, given the increase in current quantities of natural gas shipped to Europe, which last year set a new record above 200 billion cubic meters and continues to grow.”