No country can replace gas supplies from Russia to Europe at the moment, Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Saad Al-Kaabi said at a press conference following the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
"In general, when talking about the situation in Ukraine or in Europe, people often say that Qatar can substitute Russian gas. I have already stated in this regard that 30-40% of supplies [to Europe] come from Russia. I think that no one will be able to replace Russia in this respect. Unfortunately, we do not yet have such volumes of LNG, for which there are long-term contracts, so it is impossible," the minister said.
Earlier European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson stated the necessity not to depend on foreign supplies of energy resources. She also said that the European Commission is studying various scenarios for gas supplies in case Russia partially or fully restricts its exports to Europe.
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia intends to continue uninterrupted supplies of gas, including LNG, to the world markets. As the Russian leader noted, expanding the use of natural gas as one of the most environmentally friendly fuels is becoming in high demand at a time of energy modernization.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS