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European countries not ready to drop Russian gas use — envoy

Steps to deter Russia "reflect nervousness if the European Union and lack of clear prospects" in respect of further actions of the community, Vladimir Chizhov noted

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. The European Union cannot afford abandoning Russian gas supplies, Russian envoy to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said on the air with the Rossiya-24 TV Channel.

"It would be overestimating to call this package of sanctions "the seventh one," the envoy said. "If we talk seriously about the seventh package of sanctions, this can only be the gas package. However, the EU is obviously not ready to drop Russian gas," the diplomat said.

Steps to deter Russia "reflect nervousness if the European Union and lack of clear prospects" in respect of further actions of the community, Chizhov noted. "They [EU leaders - TASS] announce certain decisions before coordinating them with member-countries. Sometimes it appears bizarre, sometimes - simply funny, like the requirement of the European Commission to reduce gas consumption by 15%, where several EU countries immediately disagreeing with that," he added.