MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. The European Union remains committed to confrontation with Russia and is pursuing a policy of completely refusing to interact with Moscow in the energy sector, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said in an interview with TASS.
"As for the European Union, the political agenda of the current leadership of European institutions and the overwhelming majority of EU member states continues to be centered on the idea of confrontation with our country. A course has been set toward a complete refusal to interact with Russia in the energy sector. We do not see any other signals from the EU," he said.
Restrictions unprecedented in scale have been imposed on the Russian energy sector, Pankin noted, adding that this has naturally resulted in a steady decline in the share of Russian energy supplies within the EU’s energy mix, which, in turn, has undermined the European Union’s own energy security. "Both European businesses and citizens are bearing the brunt of exorbitant energy prices," he stressed.
"In this context, the meeting of the European Council held on October 15-16 is indicative, as its agenda prioritized issues of energy security, high energy prices, and support measures for the most vulnerable segments of the population and industrial sectors," Pankin added.
"While calling for international coordination of efforts to ensure the stability of energy supplies, the heads of state of EU member countries simultaneously voiced regret at the United States’ decision to temporarily exempt Russian diesel fuel from sanctions. This clear contradiction is extremely difficult to explain in terms of common sense," he concluded.