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Russia ready to help Europe overcome energy crisis — Lavrov

Russia's top diplomat stressed that Gazprom was fulfilling all its obligations to European countries not only in full but even in excess

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Russia is ready to help Europe overcome the energy crisis, but it must understand the need for reciprocal steps, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

"Gazprom is fulfilling all its obligations [to European countries] not only in full but even in excess," Lavrov said. "We are ready to help Europe overcome this crisis, but Europe must also recognize the need for reciprocal steps," the minister added.

Lavrov added that Washington is trying to sabotage 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 stressed.

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 added.