MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Russian gas supplies are the most profitable for Europeans in terms of price and logistics, and they are forced to pay too much for US LNG amid competition with China, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"From the point of view of logistics, Russian gas is the most profitable, as well as from the point of view of price. Today, we see that in Europe, due to forecasted gas deficit, connected with the uncertainty of gas supplies via the existing route through Ukraine among other reasons, spot prices on the exchanges have grown very noticeably and amount to around $490-500 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. This is a high level, since traditionally the average was much lower at $250-300," he said.

In conditions of competing China, Europeans pay significantly more for US LNG than for Russian gas, Novak noted.

Overall gas consumption in Europe has dropped significantly in recent years, and many industrial plants have closed or moved to other regions, including the United States. "Maybe that was the point," Novak stressed.