05 March 2026
Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe as the war in Iran sends energy prices soaring.
The Russian president said on Wednesday that he will instruct the Kremlin to consider shifting Russia’s gas exports away from Europe and to more profitable markets in Asia following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
Putin said on state television: “Other markets are opening now. Maybe it’s better for us to end supplies to the European market right now? To go to those markets that are opening now and get a foothold there.
“I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies.”
European natural gas prices have soared by 58pc since late last week, before the US and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran, rising to €49.6 per megawatt hour by Wednesday.
Putin’s threat to cut off Europe from Russian gas risks driving up prices further by curbing supplies.
Russia’s pipeline gas exports to Europe have plunged since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and the European Union intends to introduce a gradual ban on Russian gas from late 2027.
But European reliance on Russian gas is so great that Russia is still the EU’s second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after the United States.
In January, the EU’s monthly LNG imports from Russia hit a record high of 2.3bn cubic metres, up more than 10pc year-on-year and nearly a fifth of all LNG imports.
Turkey, Serbia, Hungary, and Slovakia are also among the countries that bought 18bn cubic meters of Russian gas via the TurkStream undersea pipeline last year.
Putin issued his threat after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping channel that transports around a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and gas trade, sending markets into turmoil.
Additional pressure on Europe’s gas supplies could emerge as the war in Iran risks adding £160 to UK households’ energy bills from July, according to Cornwall Insight.
This has prompted calls for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consider contingency plans to protect ships travelling through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
Patrick Tiernan, the chief executive of Lloyd’s of London, met City minister Lucy Rigby in an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the impact of the war in the Middle East.
Lloyd’s underwrites billions of pounds worth of maritime insurance each year, although in recent days it has increased prices and cancelled policies for ships travelling through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump pledged this week to underwrite policies for ships travelling through the region in a move that threatens to undermine Lloyd’s position as the world’s main insurance hub.
His announcement served to calm markets, with gas prices dipping slightly on Wednesday and stock markets rising.
The US benchmark S&P 500 was up by nearly 1pc while the FTSE 100 climbed 0.8pc.
But UK Treasury insiders played down the idea that the Government was considering underwriting insurance policies, insisting that the meeting was a “fact-finding mission” scheduled before Mr Trump’s comments.
They added that it was still unclear how Mr Trump’s proposals would play out in practice.
In the short-term, there are signs that the outlook for gas markets will worsen after Qatar declared “force majeure” on its LNG exports on Wednesday.
Force majeure is a contractual clause that excuses Qatar, which supplies a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG), from fulfilling its export obligations because of an unforeseeable event.
State energy giant Qatar Energy had already stopped producing gas earlier this week after an initial wave of Iranian strike attacks.
The head of energy regulator Ofgem warned there would be “significant upward pressure on prices” if the conflict in Iran continues for a long period.
Jonathan Brearley told the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee: “Although we remain at the early stages of this conflict, if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a prolonged period of time, it is likely this will
create significant upward pressure on prices that customers will pay for their gas and electricity.”
Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the crisis highlighted the need to move away from fossil fuels towards “clean homegrown power”.
He said on social media: “Conflict in the Middle East is yet another reminder that the only route to energy security and sovereignty for the UK is to get off our dependence on fossil fuel markets, whose prices we do not control, and onto clean homegrown power we do.”
Mr Miliband added had been in contact with the Qatari and Saudi energy ministers in recent days, claiming that the Government is monitoring the situation in oil and gas markets.
Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe as the war in Iran sends energy prices soaring.
The Russian president said on Wednesday that he will instruct the Kremlin to consider shifting Russia’s gas exports away from Europe and to more profitable markets in Asia following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
Putin said on state television: “Other markets are opening now. Maybe it’s better for us to end supplies to the European market right now? To go to those markets that are opening now and get a foothold there.
“I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies.”
European natural gas prices have soared by 58pc since late last week, before the US and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran, rising to €49.6 per megawatt hour by Wednesday.
Putin’s threat to cut off Europe from Russian gas risks driving up prices further by curbing supplies.
Russia’s pipeline gas exports to Europe have plunged since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and the European Union intends to introduce a gradual ban on Russian gas from late 2027.
But European reliance on Russian gas is so great that Russia is still the EU’s second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after the United States.
In January, the EU’s monthly LNG imports from Russia hit a record high of 2.3bn cubic metres, up more than 10pc year-on-year and nearly a fifth of all LNG imports.
Turkey, Serbia, Hungary, and Slovakia are also among the countries that bought 18bn cubic meters of Russian gas via the TurkStream undersea pipeline last year.
Putin issued his threat after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping channel that transports around a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and gas trade, sending markets into turmoil.
Additional pressure on Europe’s gas supplies could emerge as the war in Iran risks adding £160 to UK households’ energy bills from July, according to Cornwall Insight.
This has prompted calls for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consider contingency plans to protect ships travelling through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
Patrick Tiernan, the chief executive of Lloyd’s of London, met City minister Lucy Rigby in an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the impact of the war in the Middle East.
Lloyd’s underwrites billions of pounds worth of maritime insurance each year, although in recent days it has increased prices and cancelled policies for ships travelling through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump pledged this week to underwrite policies for ships travelling through the region in a move that threatens to undermine Lloyd’s position as the world’s main insurance hub.
His announcement served to calm markets, with gas prices dipping slightly on Wednesday and stock markets rising.
The US benchmark S&P 500 was up by nearly 1pc while the FTSE 100 climbed 0.8pc.
But UK Treasury insiders played down the idea that the Government was considering underwriting insurance policies, insisting that the meeting was a “fact-finding mission” scheduled before Mr Trump’s comments.
They added that it was still unclear how Mr Trump’s proposals would play out in practice.
In the short-term, there are signs that the outlook for gas markets will worsen after Qatar declared “force majeure” on its LNG exports on Wednesday.
Force majeure is a contractual clause that excuses Qatar, which supplies a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG), from fulfilling its export obligations because of an unforeseeable event.
State energy giant Qatar Energy had already stopped producing gas earlier this week after an initial wave of Iranian strike attacks.
The head of energy regulator Ofgem warned there would be “significant upward pressure on prices” if the conflict in Iran continues for a long period.
Jonathan Brearley told the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee: “Although we remain at the early stages of this conflict, if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a prolonged period of time, it is likely this will
create significant upward pressure on prices that customers will pay for their gas and electricity.”
Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the crisis highlighted the need to move away from fossil fuels towards “clean homegrown power”.
He said on social media: “Conflict in the Middle East is yet another reminder that the only route to energy security and sovereignty for the UK is to get off our dependence on fossil fuel markets, whose prices we do not control, and onto clean homegrown power we do.”
Mr Miliband added had been in contact with the Qatari and Saudi energy ministers in recent days, claiming that the Government is monitoring the situation in oil and gas markets.
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www.telegraph.co.uk
