The British government has said it has cut Russian gas imports into the country by 75% this year, while acknowledging that Russia is still capable of exploiting its dominance in gas supplies.
UK Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Quarting said the UK had already cut its imports of Russian gas by 75% year-over-year, while the share of oil imports from Russia had halved.
The Minister noted that the UK is “currently exposed to gas markets” that it cannot control and added that despite all the sanctions, “Russia can still use its dominance over gas supplies.”
“Just last week, Russia reduced gas supplies to Italy and Slovakia and completely cut them off from France, and shortly before that, companies in Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark and Germany stopped Russian gas supplies. Europe can no longer be in this situation,” the minister said.
The politician also noted that by the end of the year, the UK will completely abandon energy supplies from Russia, reducing its dependence on gas markets.
Meanwhile, Quarting made it clear that the gas crisis is not related to Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, but began when the economy began to recover from the pandemic, when demand rose, and with it prices.
Source: “Sputnik”