Ordinary Europeans are being made to pay for their leaders' "irrational" policies in relation to Russia, while Brussels' American allies get rich from an energy bonanza, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
"Step by step, unfortunately, both Brussels and individual European countries are demonstrating their absolute lack of reason," Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
"This is demonstrated in such anti-Russian impulses, outbursts of hatred for our country, through absolutely irrational and even absurd actions in the the energy field, for which the publics of European countries - the EU, Britain and so on, have to pay, but which make it possible for American companies to turn a profit, for example," Peskov said.
Asked to comment on Brussels' potential discussions of banning tourist visas for Russians, the Kremlin spokesman suggested that the possibility of even discussing such ideas at the EU level demonstrates the "set of irrational bordering on insanity" prevalent among the bloc's political elites.
The United States and the European Union dramatically reduced purchases of Russian coal, oil and gas in the spring after Moscow launched a special operation to "demilitarize" Ukraine amid fears of an imminent push by Kiev to crush the fledgling Donbass republics. The measures have since been complemented by additional restrictions, including sanctions targeting equipment used by the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, and the closing down of overland pipelines running through Poland and Ukraine delivering energy to Europe. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was completed late last year and prepared for operation, remains dormant.
The deficit in Russian energy has resulted in a dramatic spike in prices, with European consumers forced to pay through the nose for utilities, while countries scramble to find alternative sources to fill up underground gas reserves to prepare for winter.
President Putin has characterized Brussels' policies as "suicidal," saying the self-imposed energy crisis will undermine the EU's competitiveness vis-a-vis the United States and China.