BENGALURU, February 6. /TASS/. Europe currently continues to buy Russian LNG, sometimes hiding it, Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson said on Monday.

"I think there is still a very strong interest (in LNG). They hide it so much that sometimes they even succeed," he said.

Mikhelson said earlier that the global economy might need around 60-70 mln metric tons of LNG in 2023-2024 due to declining pipeline gas supplies. However, until 2026, the sector would not have new major projects that could meet this demand.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with TASS that the EU market remains open for LNG from Russia, for 11 months of 2022 supplies increased to 19.4 bln cubic meters.