Putin: Instructing the Russian government to assess the feasibility of cutting off energy supplies to Europe.

Russian President Putin said in Moscow on the 9th that he has instructed the Russian government to assess the feasibility of stopping the supply of energy to the European market and consider redirecting these energy sources to more attractive directions. According to a message released on the Russian President's website on the 9th, Putin chaired a meeting on the "world oil and gas market situation" at the Kremlin that day. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister Novak, officials, and leaders of oil and gas enterprises such as Russian oil companies and Russian gas industry oil companies attended the meeting. Putin stated that Russia has repeatedly warned that attempts to destabilize the situation in the Middle East will inevitably impact the global "fuel and energy system", raise oil and gas prices, suppress global oil and gas supplies, and disrupt related investment plans. Against the backdrop of continued conflict in the Middle East, global fuel and energy logistics will shift to markets that are more profitable and have broader prospects. Russian energy companies should seize the current opportunity to use the additional revenue to reduce debt, and "the Russian government and the Central Bank must monitor this process." Putin pointed out that Russia is a reliable energy supplier and will continue to supply oil and gas to trustworthy partners under stable long-term agreements. If European buyers guarantee stable long-term cooperation with Russia and are not affected by political situations, Russia will not refuse to cooperate with Europe at any time. On January 26, the 27 member states of the European Union formally adopted regulations on gradually banning the import of pipeline natural gas and liquefied natural gas from Russia. A full ban on the import of liquefied natural gas from Russia will take effect in early 2027, and a full ban on the import of pipeline natural gas will take effect in the fall of 2027. In 2025, Russian natural gas accounted for about 13% of the total EU imports, worth more than 15 billion euros.