MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. Europe has faced significant setbacks since imposing a self-ban on Russian gas, Dmitry Birichevsky, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of Economic Cooperation, said in an interview with TASS.
"It is clear to us that these measures are entirely untenable. Such self-imposed bans and other restrictions directly hurt those who impose them," he said. "European economies and end users, both industry and households, now face sharply higher costs, while businesses are shutting down or moving to other jurisdictions. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the 8th summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow, ‘Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,’" the diplomat stated.
Birichevsky noted that the EU’s initiative to impose a complete ban on imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is in line with the politicized sanctions policy of recent years aimed at isolating Russia economically. "It was the Europeans who began severing the longstanding, mutually beneficial energy ties with our country that dated back to Soviet times," he recalled.