March 9, 2022: -Russia has threatened to close a significant gas pipeline to Germany and warned of $300 oil prices if the West goes ahead with a ban on its energy exports.

“It is obvious that a rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an address on state television on Monday.

“The surge in prices would be unpredictable. It would be $300 for each barrel, if not more.”

Novak cited Germany’s decision last month to halt the certification of the highly contentious Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which says that “We have every right to take a matching decision and impose an embargo on gas pumping through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.”

“So far, we are not taking such a decision,” Novak said. “But European politicians with their statements and accusations against Russia push us towards that.”

The U.N. is saying 1.7 million refugees have left Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of the country started on February 24, describing it as “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.”

The U.S. has been considering imposing a ban on Russia’s oil and gas exports as a way of punishing Moscow.

However, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.K. have appeared to back away from a coordinated Western embargo on Russian energy exports.

Energy analysts have warned that a ban on Russia’s oil and gas would have seismic repercussions for energy markets and the world economy.

Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer, behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and the largest exporter of crude to global markets of the world. It is also a significant producer and exporter of natural gas.

The European Union receives around 40% of its gas via Russian pipelines, several of which run through Ukraine.