Gas production company. File photoBEIRUT, Mar 27The European Union will be able to abandon Russian gas within two years, said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in an interview with Sky News Arabia. According to him, it is planned to use different sources for fuel supplies. «We seek to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy resources, and not ban them «, — added Borrell. Now Russia supplies about 40 percent of the gas consumed in Europe. Pumping is carried out along several routes: along the Nord Stream, through Ukraine, along the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline and the Turkish Stream. At the same time, since the middle of last year, prices in the European market have been constantly rising against the backdrop of a low level of occupancy of underground gas storage facilities, limited supply from major suppliers and strong demand for LNG in Asia.
Russian gas transit through Ukraine remains at a maximum After the start of the Russian military special operation in Ukraine and a new round of Western sanctions in Europe, calls to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources began to sound louder. The market reacted to this with a sharp jump — up to almost four thousand dollars per thousand cubic meters. As Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted, even a simple discussion of Europe's refusal of Russian energy carriers is negative for the market. According to him, without Russian gas supplies, the world will collapse, and prices will be unpredictable. On March 23, President Vladimir Putin announced the transfer of payments for gas from unfriendly countries to rubles and instructed the Central Bank and the government to determine the procedure for such operations. At the same time, he stressed that Russia will continue to supply gas in accordance with existing contracts, as it values its reputation. Russian gas will become a «catastrophe»
