This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak. Russian export natural gas in the European Union this year will be reduced by 50 billion cubic meters, Interfax reports.

Last year, Russia exported a total of about 150 billion cubic meters.

Russian energy supplies to Europe have been significantly reduced this year due to the stalemate and massive Western sanctions against Russia following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Russia supplied about 40% of natural gas to Europe before sending its troops to Ukraine. That figure dropped to 9% as Moscow cut off supplies to Europe, citing technical problems it attributes to Western sanctions.

Earlier today, Gazprom announced that natural gas exports to non-CIS countries (the Commonwealth of Independent States) decreased by 38.8% to 84.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) between January 1 and September 15 compared to the corresponding period last year. of the year.

Europe is considering imposing a price ceiling on Russian natural gas to stop skyrocketing energy prices and punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia would stop energy exports if such restrictions were introduced.

Today, a high-ranking head of “Gazprom” said that Europe has no alternative to Russian gas.

“There is no country capable of providing resources comparable to the resources that the fields of Siberia and the Yamal Peninsula have,” Oleg Aksiutin, Deputy General Director of Gazprom, said at a press conference.

^{According to REUTERS, APE-MPE}