The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the European Union, introducing the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, is trying to use energy for political purposes, ignoring the interests of the international community.

“It is clear that the EU, by introducing or planning unilateral sanctions against energy supplies from Russia, is politicizing the energy sector, trying to use the interdependence between consumers and energy suppliers as an instrument of political pressure.

The Russian Foreign Ministry added that the decision adopted at the meeting of the European Council on May 30-31, 2022 to partially ban the import of Russian oil and petroleum products into the European Union confirms that the European Union is not ready to abandon this harmful practice, and it does not take into account the interests of the European Union and the international community “.

He added: “There are no real alternatives to Russian energy resources on the European market in the near future … and some EU capitals are well aware of this. So, especially against the backdrop of statements about the rejection of Russian energy resources, a number of countries are now out of the union, in fact, on the contrary, they are increasing purchases of Russian natural gas for storage in their underground storage facilities.”

She noted that “the calculations of the EU countries for the rapid replacement of Russian pipeline gas with liquefied natural gas are an illusion.”