Austria will stick to its Ukraine policy despite Russia cutting natural gas supplies to the country from this weekend, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Friday.
“We will not be blackmailed or brought to our knees,” he said in an address to the nation.
Gazprom Export, a subsidiary of Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom, informed Austrian oil and gas group OMW that it would suspend natural gas supplies from Saturday.
The move is in response to an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce, which awarded OMV €230 million ($242 million) in a contractual dispute with Gazprom.
Nehammer said Gazprom has defaulted on its delivery obligations on several occasions in the past to put pressure on Austria for its support of EU sanctions against Russia.
“No one in Austria needs to freeze. The apartments can be heated,” the Chancellor continued, emphasizing that sufficient natural gas supplies are available and that Austrian consumption is not relevant to the broader European market.
Austria has remained heavily dependent on Russian gas, even as other EU countries such as Germany have tried to end their dependence after Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The share of Russian deliveries has recently accounted for more than 80% of Austria’s total gas imports.
However, OMV previously said it has been preparing for the total cutoff scenario for three years, and Austria’s position is now significantly better than in 2022, thanks to lower gas consumption and more supply sources.
The alternative supplies must come from Norway, from Austria’s own production, or in the form of liquefied natural gas by ship via Germany or Italy.
In addition, all storage facilities are currently approximately 90% full, providing enough gas to meet Austria’s needs for approximately one year.
The latest dispute centers on a previous gas supply interruption, which resulted in the arbitration case.
When the case went in OMV’s favor, the partly state-owned company said it would stop paying Gazprom until it received an amount of gas equal to the €230 million arbitration award.
Even without current developments, energy cooperation between Austria and Russia, which dates back to 1968, would likely have come to an end. The transit contract for the supply of Russian natural gas via the pipeline through Ukraine and Slovakia expires at the end of this year and is not expected to be renewed.
Within the EU, Hungary and Slovakia continue to receive large volumes of Russian gas flows.
