CAIRO, October 25. /TASS/. The Russian Ministry of Energy believes that Western countries use energy resources as a political weapon, Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov said at a meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

At the same time, Western countries had repeatedly accused Russia of using energy resources as a weapon and supposedly using the threat of halting supplies to blackmail them.

"The biggest negative factor was that a group of countries politicized energy interaction. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the West has tried to use energy resources as a political weapon. Other GECF members, Iran and Venezuela, know this from their own experience," he said.

According to Shulginov, the sanctions pressure on Russia caused the breakdown of the previous supply chains and the disruption of the market environment. "Plans to stop using Russian gas until 2030, for instance, have caused gas prices in Europe to grow exponentially. Ordinary citizens have to pay for these decisions," the minister said.

"It is obvious that the current situation is manufactured. Unlawful unilateral sanctions are one of its primary causes," Shulginov stressed.