“Now other markets are opening up. And perhaps it is more advantageous for us to immediately stop deliveries to the European market,” Putin said in an interview on Russian state television that was also published by the Kremlin. Accordingly, the President is considering forestalling the entry into force of the EU sanctions.

Such a step, if decided, is likely to worsen the already tense situation in the wake of the Iran war Gas market further aggravate and drive up energy prices even further. That was after the beginning Russian war of aggression against Ukraine 2022 like this.

Putin said that he was just thinking out loud about whether it might be better for Russia to focus on other markets and gain a foothold there. A decision has not been made. However, he commissions the government and companies to examine such a step. Putin once again emphasized that Russia wanted to remain a reliable supplier in Europe. But he primarily has loyal customers such as Hungary and Slovakia in mind.

Russia wants to rely on reliable partners

Putin claimed that there was no political background to his considerations. It’s about business. If the EU will soon stop buying Russian gas anyway, “it is better to stop now and go to the countries that are reliable partners and establish ourselves there,” he said. In the interview, he also spoke about the price gouging on the gas market, which is due to faulty policies in the EU.

Russia had massively diversified its gas deliveries due to the EU sanctions and expanded it primarily to China. Despite the sanctions, the energy superpower is still supplying gas to the EU. The European Union wants to be completely independent of natural gas from Russia by the end of 2027 at the latest and stop all imports.

Last year, the EU imported liquefied natural gas from Russia worth around 7.4 billion euros. That is around 3 percent less than in 2024 (around 7.6 billion), according to data from the EU statistics agency Eurostat. In total, liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth around 46.0 billion euros was imported in 2025. Most of it – around 24.2 billion euros – came from the USA.