Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that for decades, since the Soviet era, in the 1970s, Moscow has established mutually beneficial cooperation in gas supplies.
Russia always fulfills its obligations under agreements and will not "shoot itself in the foot" by stopping gas supplies - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Sky News Arabia on September 20.
Asked why Russia had not stopped gas exports to the EU, despite the European Union imposing sanctions on Russia, Lavrov said: "We are decent people. We have signed long-term agreements with Europe. We have always fulfilled our obligations."
“Currently, Europe meets its basic needs with liquefied natural gas (LNG). But if someone wants to buy Russian gas, we will never back out of our agreements. We are neighbors. We have pipelines. Despite the fact that three branches of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines have been destroyed, there are still other pipelines, including through Ukraine, through Turkey, through the Black Sea. If it is beneficial for both sides, why ‘shoot yourself in the foot’” - the Russian Foreign Minister noted.
"The European energy industry, especially Germany, and the economy in general have been living on this affordable and reliable supply of Russian gas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview that it was Russia that stopped supplying gas to Europe. Why? Everyone knows how it happened. It was Germany that did not approve the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline," Lavrov pointed out.
