VIENNA, March 15. /TASS/. The Austrian government has set a goal to completely stop purchasing Russian gas by 2027, the country’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said at a press conference with his American counterpart Antony Blinken.

"The Austrian government’s goal is to become 100% independent of Russian gas by 2027," Schallenberg said.

Earlier, Leonore Gewessler, Austrian Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, said that Vienna must prepare a way out of the agreements on Russian gas supplies concluded by the OMV concern.

As OMV told TASS, if necessary, the company is ready to supply its clients in Austria with gas, which is 100% not from Russia, but in order to fully abandon Russian gas, an appropriate regulatory framework must first be developed.

According to the Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, the share of Russian natural gas in Austria’s energy balance reached 98% in December 2023, which is a record high since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. In February 2022 it was 79%.

In June 2018, an agreement was signed to extend the existing contract between Gazprom Export and OMV Gas Marketing & Trading GmbH for the supply of Russian natural gas to Austria until 2040. Previously, the contract was valid until 2028. The contract is based on the take-or-pay principle, meaning OMV is obliged to transfer money even if it does not actually take the gas.