Russia not responsible for rocketing energy prices: official

MOSCOW - Russia has nothing to do with the current surge in energy prices and the volatility in the market, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Monday.

Europe consumes about 500 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and 40 percent comes from Russia, he noted in a statement, calling his country "always a reliable partner".

Russia's gas industry giant Gazprom is now fully fulfilling its contractual obligations to supply gas to Europe, Novak stressed, adding that Russia provides about 30 percent of Europe's oil consumption and is its largest supplier.

Novak said that Russia has been fully fulfilling all its obligations, and oil and oil products are being shipped to European markets as planned.

The price of energy has spiked due to the COVID-19 pandemic and most recently because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

According to a flash estimate published last week by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, energy prices are expected to increase by a record 31.7 percent across the eurozone in February year-on-year.