LONDON, June 28. /TASS/. The European Union should postpone its ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports because doing otherwise risks increasing Europe’s dependence on the United States, Ivan Jimenez, who heads Spain’s Port of Bilbao, one of Europe's key gas hubs, said.
"I think that this is not the moment to cut the gas coming from Russia because that could be a very problematic question for the European Union," he told The Financial Times. "We need more resilience," Jimenez added.
He believes US President Donald Trump could keep pressure on the EU to maintain the Russian gas ban, given the boost it would provide to US exports to Europe.
The newspaper noted that Russian LNG supplies to EU countries have increased since the Middle East crisis began. Jimenez warned that Russian gas imports could not be phased out overnight.
According to the Financial Times, Russian LNG accounted for 59% of gas imports through the Port of Bilbao between January and May this year, while the US share dropped to 40%.
"The quality of the Russian gas is good <...> and when it comes to the prices, usually it’s cheaper than [gas] coming from the States," Jimenez pointed out.
The Council of the European Union approved a complete ban on Russian LNG imports from January 1, 2027, while Russian pipeline gas imports are to be prohibited from September 30, 2027. A ban on LNG imports under short-term contracts took effect on April 25, 2026, while short-term contracts for pipeline gas deliveries were due to expire by June 17.