MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. The Kremlin monitors the situation with an increase in gas prices in Europe, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, adding that Gazprom fulfills its obligations and is ready for new contracts.

"We obviously monitor how the spot market is developing in Europe," he said. "We have already said that Gazprom has been nearing an all-time high in terms of the volumes of natural gas supplies to European consumers recently. Gazprom fully meets all its obligations," Peskov noted, adding that the gas producer "is ready to consider new contracts, long-term contracts, with higher volumes to satisfy the rising demand of European consumers for natural gas."

The factors that are putting pressure on the gas price on the European spot market, triggering a spike in prices, are "absolutely clear" to experts, the spokesman noted. "Those are objective factors, we all will have to face them in the future," he said, adding that "the spot market obviously can only satisfy part of the demand for fast-paced development."

It was reported earlier on Tuesday that the gas price in Europe exceeded $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters at opening trade on September 28 for the first time ever. Market watchers expect the gas price to continue growing and hit new all-time highs in the event of the cold winter and the physical shortage of gas on the market.