Russia to seek alternative to European energy market: Putin

RUSSIA-BELARUS-POLITICS-SPACE

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (Photo by Mikhail KLIMENTYEV / Sputnik / AFP)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin looks on during talks with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko at the engineering building of the technical complex of the Soyuz-2 space rocket complex at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, some 180 km north of Blagoveschensk, Amur region, on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Mikhail KLIMENTYEV / Sputnik / AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow will be looking into alternative markets for its energy exports after Western capitals sanctioned Russia over its military operation in Ukraine.

Since Moscow’s troops moved into its pro-Western neighbour on February 24, Russia has faced a barrage of unprecedented sanctions, including embargoes on its energy exports.

“We have all the resources and opportunities to quickly find alternative solutions,” Putin said during a televised government meeting on the development of the Russian Arctic.

“As for Russian oil, gas and coal — we can increase their consumption on the domestic market… and also increase the supply of energy resources to other parts of the world, where they are really needed,” Putin added.

As part of its sanctions on Russia, the United States banned the import of Russian oil and gas, while the European Union and Japan banned the import of Russian coal.

The EU — which receives 40 percent of its gas supplies from Russia — has resisted calls to turn off the taps immediately but is seeking to gradually wean itself off deliveries from Moscow.

Germany has also scrapped the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was set to increase Russian gas supplies to the European Union.

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