MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/. The West is currently trying by all means to ban Russian gas and oil with the sole aim of "punishing" Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RT India.

"They are now trying to ban our gas and oil supplies simply because they want to punish Russia," he said.

At the same time, Lavrov expressed confidence that India understands what is really happening. "This is not the kind of force majeure that the Europeans constantly invoke when turning down contracts for Russian energy supplies out of hand," he pointed out.

The Russian foreign minister again stressed that Russia "never punishes anyone and always fulfills obligations to [its] partners in good faith regardless of whether we are dealing with friendly or not so friendly countries."

"Once we strike an agreement, Russia traditionally honors its commitments under any deal," Lavrov concluded.