Russia is orchestrating Europe’s gas crisis, says energy agency boss

Fatih Birol says low gas flows to continent coincide with escalating rift over Ukraine

The head of the International Energy Agency has accused Russia of orchestrating Europe's deepening energy crisis at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions by withholding up to a third of its gas exports.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, directly blamed Russia's behaviour for the record-high energy market prices in Europe this winter that threaten to upend large parts of the European economy and plunge millions into a cost of living crisis.