EU more dependent on Russian gas than ever, despite bid to diversify
Russian gas giant Gazprom said this month it had completed record deliveries towards Europe and Turkey in 2017 at a total of 193.9 billion cubic metres – 8% higher than its previous record, set in 2016.
This result was not only a financial victory for the company, whose exports are its main source of profit, but also a political one at a time when diplomatic relations between Russia and the European Union are at their worst since the Cold War, EurActiv reports.
The numbers “show the increasing demand from European countries for Russian gas, but also the reliability of these deliveries in the required amount”, Gazprom’s chairman Alexei Miller said.
Deliveries to Germany and Austria reached a historic high and exports to France rose by 6.7% compared to 2016, according to Gazprom’s figures.
