Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a statement that Russia is willing to support Europe in overcoming the continent's current energy crisis. Addressing an online meeting on Friday with representatives from the Association of European Businesses in Russia, Lavrov said "I would like to remind once again that (Russian gas industry giant) Gazprom is continuing to supply gas to Europe under long-term contracts." "Gazprom is continuing to completely fulfil all of its obligations, and even more," he said.

Lavrov believes that the European Commission and the US are directly responsible for the current tensions between Russia and Europe over energy supplies. He said that the European Commission retroactively extended legal requirements for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, causing it to operate at just 50 per cent capacity. The same could happen with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is about to be launched, he said.

Lavrov added that Washington is trying to disrupt Russian-EU energy cooperation. "The United States bluntly says that cooperation with Russia is contrary to the interests of Europe's energy security. They want to flat out drive a wedge between us in this area and to whittle down our interdependence," he emphasized. The top diplomat acknowledged Europe's dependence on Russian supplies. "But we also depend to a large extent on those who buy this gas," he said.

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