The key facts
- Putin, in an interview with Vesti, stated that Russia has 'never refused anyone' supplies of oil, gas, coal and uranium raw materials
- According to the president, the European states themselves refused the purchases and continue to plan abandoning the remaining supplies
- Earlier, Putin instructed the government to assess redirecting oil and gas exports to other markets, without waiting for new EU restrictions
The president's statement in an interview with Vesti
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with Vesti news agency journalist Pavel Zarubin, stated that Russia has never banned the supply of oil, gas, coal and uranium raw materials to European countries. According to him, accusations against Moscow that it 'does not provide relatively cheap raw materials' do not correspond to reality: 'We have never refused anyone anything!' — the Russian leader emphasized.
Who, in Putin's view, initiated the refusal
As reported by Life.ru, according to the president, European politicians initially tried to place responsibility for energy supply problems on Moscow, but it was precisely the decisions of the European authorities that, in Putin's view, led to a reduction in purchases of Russian resources. He noted that European countries not only refused a significant portion of supplies but also continue to develop plans to stop purchasing the remaining Russian raw materials. 'It is they who refused, and they are still making plans to abandon what they still receive from Russia,' Putin noted.
Context: ongoing supplies and export redirection
The outlet notes that the European Union is consistently reducing its energy dependence on Moscow as part of its sanctions and energy policy. The restrictions affect various types of raw materials and are introduced in stages, so individual supplies from Russia to European countries continue. Earlier, Life.ru reported that Putin proposed not waiting for new EU restrictions and considering redirecting Russian oil and gas exports to other markets: the president instructed the government to assess the feasibility of such a step, so that Russian companies could establish themselves in advance in more promising directions.
Why this matters
The statement came against the backdrop of the EU's ongoing phased abandonment of Russian energy resources, and it sets out Moscow's official position in the dispute over responsibility for Europe's energy problems. For Russian companies, the practical significance lies in the instruction already given by the president to the government to assess redirecting oil and gas exports to other markets — how export logistics will be restructured depends on this assessment. At the same time, the European side's position is not presented in the cited publications, so any assessment of the supply situation can for now rely only on the words of the Russian president.
