Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that the decision of the Kremlin-controlled gas giant "Gazprom" to stop the supply of natural gas to the Austrian OMV (OMV) shows how poorly the laws are followed in Russia and sends a message to all companies in the world, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"If they don't like the contract, they simply terminate it," he said at a press conference in Vienna together with his Ukrainian colleague Andriy Sibikha. "This sends a message to everyone around the world who does business with Russia, and should serve as a warning to businesses that there is no going back to the status quo on this issue.
Shallenberg indicated that the issue of the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine was not the topic of his conversation with Sibiha.
"Gazprom" halted gas supplies to Austria on Saturday after a court ruled that the Russian company owes penalties under a contract with OMV, and the Austrian company said it would withhold the amount of the blue fuel supplied to it.