The Foreign Ministry appreciated the idea of ​​the EC to abandon long-term gas contracts – RBK

The proposal of the European Commission to abandon the extension of long-term contracts for the supply of natural gas by 2049 gas remains “at the level of talks”, since this type of fuel is the most reliable, said Dmitry Birichevsky, Director of the Department for Economic Cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry, in an interview “RIA News”…

“I think that so far this is all at the level of conversations, primarily in the European Union itself. There is a discussion on this topic, which we hear and record, “he said, admitting that Europe can approve the proposal of the European Commission if the market is confident in the ability of the market to” regulate everything. “

Countries that cooperate with Gazprom on the basis of long-term contracts have become convinced of the advantages of this approach, so this state of affairs will remain the same, says Birichevsky. “But it is, of course, premature to think ahead for 2049. By that time, some other types of fuel may appear, but so far, even in the long term, nothing has been invented more reliable than natural gas, ”he added.

The European Commission put forward a proposal in mid-December. According to the EC initiative, EU member states should not renew existing long-term contracts for the supply of natural gas and refuse to conclude new contracts for the supply of natural gas after 2049. “Europe needs to turn the page with fossil fuels and move to cleaner energy sources,” the European Commission said.